The Family Man
by MJ2705
Summary: AU. Peeta Mellark is a rich, powerful and hot shot investment banker who wakes up one morning in a new life, with a wife and two kids. He's living in the suburbs, driving a mini-van and working at his family's market and bakery...not his ideal life.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone, I was pleasantly surprised with all the feedback for my little one shot so I thought I would try my hat at writing a longer fic. **

**The Family Man is an older movie that starred Nicolas Cage and Tea Leoni but I'm putting my own Peeta and Katniss spin on it. It's definitely an AU but most of the dialogue is taken directly from the movie. **

**I don't own The Family Man or The Hunger Games Trilogy.**

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**Prologue...**

JFK is crowded as usual, people buzzing past us in a hurry but I'm pretty much oblivious to everything around me. I only have eyes for her…Katniss Everdeen.

"So, I got you a few necessities…" Katniss says as she hands me a new copy of J.D. Salinger's The_ Catcher in the Rye_. "Your copy was a mess."

I accept the book; it's one my favorites but I'm still having such a hard time taking my eyes off the beautiful girl standing in front of me. She's placed something else in my hands, it's my iPod…something that I've been missing for about a week or so. I thought I was going to have to buy a new one in London.

"I borrowed it," Katniss is sporting a sly grin; she knew that I had been looking for it. "I made you a special playlist, you'll know it when you see it. And every one of those songs will remind you of me in a slightly different way…"

"I sure hope _Baby Got Back_ is on there," I joke as she playfully punches me in the arm.

"You're a pervert."

"Yeah, but I'm your pervert." I joke before Katniss leans over and kisses me with such passion that I'm bordering on speechless, something that never happens to me.

"That was not officially the goodbye kiss. It was just an interim kiss…" Katniss says, trying her hardest not to cry.

I nod, I feel like such an idiot...standing in the middle of the airport, about to say goodbye to the only girl I've ever loved. Granted I know that I'm only 22 years old but we've been dating since the end of High School. I'm going to miss her so damn much. I can feel that my eyes are starting to well up, too. I can't help myself, I have to hold her again…kiss her again. I know we look like quite the spectacle in the middle of the airport, kissing and clutching onto one another, every few minutes. And then I hear it…the voice that I've been dreading.

"This will be the final boarding call for Virgin Atlantic flight 614 to London, Heathrow, "The announcer's voice is loud and clear, it's time for me to go.

"You have your ticket?" Katniss asks me as she holds my hand, turning me towards my gate.

I pull out my ticket from my backpack and Katniss nods, a sad smile gracing her face. I take her in my arms once again and give her a gentle kiss before we separate. "I'm not even going to say it, Katniss. Maybe it'll be like I never left…" Katniss nods and gives me a little wave as I head closer to my gate.

"Wait!"

I immediately turn around and see her barreling towards me, "Katniss," I breathe out.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Katniss motions to my gate door.

"About the plane? What do you think it's going to crash? Don't say that…" I'm suddenly nervous about getting on my flight.

"No, that's not it," Katniss says shaking her head. "I know we've talked about this a thousand times and we both agree that going to London is the right thing to do. But in my heart…this feels wrong." She glances at the few remaining passengers who are about to board before her grey eyes find mine once again. "Don't go, Peeta…"

"You mean don't go at all? What about my internship?" I'm stunned; Katniss is the one who told me to go to London in the first place, that this was an amazing opportunity for me.

"Believe me I know what an incredible opportunity this is for you but…"

I cut her off, "For us, Katniss…for us."

"Right, for us. But…I'm afraid that if you get on that plane…" Katniss can't seem to finish her sentence.

"What?" I ask her. "What, Katniss? Talk to me!"

Katniss seems torn, unsure of what to say. "Go. I'm sorry, you should just go…"

My brain is going a mile a minute; I'm not sure what to do. I've loved Katniss since I was a child…do I really want to leave her? "No, you're right. What are we doing?"

"We're being responsible. Go. Get on the plane!"

"Katniss…" I begin…I think I'm starting to feel light-headed.

Katniss smiles "Get the hell out of my sight. You bother me."

I can't help but laugh, there's my feisty girl, who I know inside and out. "Katniss..."

"It's not forever, we'll be fine," She smiles again although I'm not entirely convinced that she's okay.

"Okay, I'm going." I take her into my arms one last time and hug her tight, very tight. I see the strange looks we are getting but I don't care. I don't want to let to go and apparently neither does Katniss, she's grasping at my shirt.

"I can't seem to let you go…"

"Do you hear me complaining about that?" We're silent for a while until I feel the nerve to speak again. "Look, we're at the airport and no one ever thinks clearly at the airport so we should just trust the decision we already made. You've been accepted to one of the best law schools in the country, I've got this internship at Barclay's Bank. We have a great plan, sweetheart…"

Katniss nods, "You want to do something great, Peeta? Let's finish the plan…start our lives right now, today…I don't know what life's going to look like but I do know it has both of us in it. And I choose us."

"I…" I'm at a loss for words…for the second time in less than five minutes.

"The plan doesn't make us great, Peeta. What we have together, that's what makes us great."

I don't know what to say…I don't know what to do. Normally, Katniss is the rational one and thinks with her head not her heart…that's my job. But, Barclay's has always been my dream. I don't want to get stuck running my family's market and bakery, sure I'm good at baking but I never wanted it to be a full time job. I don't want to be stuck in our little hometown forever, like my brothers and their families. That's why Katniss and I both went to Columbia in New York…we both wanted more for our lives than our town of Panem, New Jersey had to offer. I know what I have to do. I kiss her deeply on the lips, leaving both of us breathless after a few moments. "I love you, Katniss."

"I love you too, Peeta," she smiles and I see hope written all over her face.

I take her face into my hands, and speak again, knowing that I'm going to crush her. "And a year in London's not going to change that. A hundred years couldn't change how I feel about you." I give her one final kiss, trying to ignore the tears and pained look on her face…knowing that I've done this to her. I walk to the gate; my head hanging low and a somber look on my face.

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**I hope you enjoyed the Prologue and I'd love to know what you think. I know the characters are a little OOC but I'm trying to keep as much as their personalities I can. Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the great response on the first chapter. Here's the second!**

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**12 years later...**

"Beep! Beep! Beep!" My hand hits the alarm clock, stopping the annoying sound in my ear. The bright morning sunlight is shining through my floor to ceiling windows. I must have forgotten to close the curtains when I got home last night. I shield my eyes and turn away from the window and something else catches my eyes…a beautiful woman who goes by the name of...Amy…Annie no that's not right…Amber…I think that's her name. She's draped in a towel; her beautiful curved body fits it perfectly. I take it that she spent the night but I'm not going to lie, the previous night's events are still a little fuzzy to me.

Amber is smiling playfully, "I hope you don't mind but I borrowed a toothbrush. There were like ten new ones in the cabinet."

"What can I say…I'm a stickler for oral hygiene."

Amber grins and moves over to the leather chaise in front of the fireplace, her little black dress is hanging neatly over one of the arms of the chaise. "Did you really mean what you said about Tuscany?"

"Of course I did," I say but I have no idea what the hell she is talking about.

"Last night was great…"

I nod, "You are an amazing lover. You should be giving motivational seminars."

Amber blushes, "Thanks. You're not bad yourself."

I grab my Gucci Chronograph Watch from my nightstand and quickly slip it on my wrist. I see Amber out of the corner of my eye as she slips her little black dress on again…her body is utterly amazing and if I didn't have to go to work, I would throw her back on the bed for a repeat of last night's performance…only this time, I hope I would remember more of it. "I want to see you again."

"I'd like that, too."

"Tonight, then."

Amber looks surprised, "It's Christmas Eve, Peeta."

I shrug, " So we'll get some egg nog and mistletoe."

Amber laughs as she puts on her shoes. "I have to go to my parents' house in Jersey. Would you like to come?"

I try not to show my disdain for New Jersey but that is the last place I want to be, Christmas Eve or other wise. "Jersey? Do you know what the traffic's going to be like?"

"I usually take the train," Amber says, as she's all dressed and ready to go. She approaches cautiously and sits next to me on the bed. "Don't you have anywhere to go?"

"I've got plenty of places to go," I say confidently.

Amber giggles, her laugh sounds like a mixture of a little schoolgirl and a sexy woman on the prowl. "Maybe, I can try and sneak away some time in the morning," she kisses me deeply on the lips. "Okay?"

"If it's something you feel strongly about," I reply coyly.

Amber rises from the bed and makes her way to my bedroom door, "It was nice meeting you, Peeta…"  
"Likewise," I mutter after she's already made her exit.

Thirty minutes later and I'm finally out the door of my penthouse. Briefcase in hand and winter coat on, I hop onto the elevator. I don't know why but whenever I'm in the elevator alone, I tend to hum along to the music…today is no exception and now I'll have Bach in my head all day. As soon as the elevator doors swing open and Elizabeth Peterson steps on wearing a mink coat and carrying her yappy little dog, I self-consciously stop.

"Mrs. Peterson," I offer her a charming smile.

"Hello Peeta," Mrs. Peterson smiles back at me, she has very nice teeth. I think they must be the only part of her 60 year old body that is real…everything else has been modified and not in a good way. "You don't have to stop singing on my account…"

"It's because I'm shy, Betty. So, when are you going to leave that old corpse Mr. Peterson and run away with me?"

"You know you could never satisfy me the way he does…"

The doors open to the grand lobby of our building and Mrs. Peterson walks out ahead of me but not before offering me a little wink. Tony the doorman holds the door open for us as we make our way out of the building.

"Merry Christmas, Mr. Mellark."

"How'd you do this year, Tony?" I inquire about the other tenants holiday gifts to Tony.

"About seven grand. Oh and a bottle of twenty five year old scotch from Mrs. Johnson in 9D. I'm putting it all in commercial paper like you said."

"Good," I reply and head on out to my baby, my silver Ferrari FF Supercar…only cost me $359,000…practically chump change. I love racing down the streets of Manhattan in my car, it's such a thrilling experience, and I recommend it to everyone. It doesn't take me long to get to work and soon I pull into the parking garage of C.A. Snow and Associates, Investment House. I barely have time for a cup of coffee before I am being pulled into meeting after meeting after meeting. I have a late lunch…make that early dinner before my last two meetings.

"…If MedTech's shares sink any lower than forty three, we're in trouble with the stock valuation. So for god's sake watch what you say to your institutional customers," I say in front of the huge flat screen monitor in the conference room. Most of the executives are frantic and taking notes like mad men but I can't help but notice Seneca Crane… what the hell kind of name is that? Not that I should talk, my parents didn't do such a stellar job by naming me Peeta. Seneca is older than me, in his late 30s, well groomed, dark brown hair although I've noticed it's starting to thin out…nice look altogether except for the fact that he's got one of the ugliest beards I've ever seen in my life. Currently, he sits with an empty, faraway look in his eyes with three empty Diet Coke cans in front of him. Every couple of minutes he pokes a little cherub dangling from a crappy, plastic Christmas tree in the middle of the conference table. "As I was saying, we still have almost a full day of trading before zero hour and I don't want any trouble. Penny for your thoughts, Seneca?" If he's not going to pay attention, then I think its time I call him out. He's not the only one who feels stuck at the office today.

Seneca looks up embarrassed, "Sorry, Peeta. I told Annie and the kids I'd be home by dinner. You know, it being Christmas Eve and all."

"Is that tonight?" I joke and gain glorious laughter from the rest of the group. "You think I like being here on Christmas Eve, Seneca?"

"I don't know. Maybe…" Seneca is apparently a jokester too…another laugh from the group and even I let out a good-natured chuckle.

"Okay, maybe I do have a touch of tunnel vision this holiday season. But in two days we're going to announce one of the largest mergers in U.S. corporate history. Forty billion dollars…when this kind of deal turns up you get on and you ride 'till it's over. You don't ask it for a vacation…" The group laughs again, almost automatically but they seemed revved up by it. "December 26th. After that there'll be so much money floating around here it'll be like Christmas every day! December 26th, people! If you'd like to celebrate that day, you all have my blessing."

"You're right, Peeta. Sorry," Seneca apologizes.

"I don't want you to be sorry, Seneca, I want you to be excited. I want my gift to be the first one you open this year. You know why?"

Seneca bites, "Why Peeta?"

"Because my gift comes with ten zeroes at the end."

We talk numbers for another half an hour and finally our meeting has come to a close. We all emerge from the conference room and most of us are met by assistants. I'm the last one out and Portia immediately meets me, she's in her 50s and has been with me since I started at the company. Portia is a godsend and she is more than an assistant to me, she's one of my best friends.

Portia is carrying my Ipad, Filofax and a pile of phone messages that are all just for me, "Only eight thirty? What's the matter, had some last minute shopping to do?"

I pop an Altoid into my mouth before Portia hands me my messages. We start walking towards my office, "You too? This holiday's about giving, Portia. And I'm giving everything I've got to this deal, so in a way, I'm more Christmassy than anyone…Altoid?"

Portia rolls her eyes, "You're such a ray of sunshine, Peeta."

We pass Portia's desk and enter my cavernous office. I have to admit that even I think it's pretty big…I mean, you could probably land a helicopter in it and still have a few feet left over. Everything is high tech from my flat screen high definition TV to my state of the art treadmill. I've got expensive leather couches and a full bar in one corner and a wall of floor to ceiling windows that face Central Park…what a view!

"Oh, Oxxford called," Portia states as I take a seat at my mahogany desk and sit down in my high tech ergonomic leather chair.

"Oh good, my new suits are ready. Can you have them delivered to my penthouse?"

"They should already be there," Portia responds, already on top of things.

I leaf through the rest of my messages, not really paying them much attention until the last message. I'm reeling just from seeing the name. "Katniss Everdeen…"

Portia nods, "Her assistant said you could call her at home after eight."

I can't take my eyes off of the message, "Her assistant?"

"Yeah, Jack, her assistant…"

"I…" I don't know what to say and Portia is staring at me, and she looks worried. I guess I owe her some sort of explanation. "Katniss Everdeen was my girlfriend in high school and college. I almost married her…"

Portia laughs heartily, "You? Married?" She's seen my string of flings and knows that I'm nowhere near marriage.

"Almost married… And almost a junior broker at E.F. Hutton…"

"Excuse me?"

"She didn't want me to go to London. We're standing at the airport saying goodbye and she asks me to stay."

"So you left her? Just like that?" Portia stares at me disbelieving…she just can't believe it.

"God, no. I thought about it for practically the entire flight…"

Portia rolls her eyes, "Stop Peeta, I'm getting all weepy."

"I took the road less travelled, Portia."

"And look where it's led you," She casually picks up my phone. "I'm going to get her on the phone." She reaches for the message from my hands.

"No," I grab it back.

"No? You almost married this woman. Aren't you even the least bit curious as to what she wants?"

I shake my head, "She's probably just having a fit of nostalgia. You know lonely Christmas Eve; call the one that got away, that kind of thing. I am quite the catch, after all."

"Peeta…"

"I'm telling you, its just ancient history," I sigh just as Clifford Snow, founder and chairmen of C.A. Snow and Associates, saunters into my office. He's in his sixties; slicked back white hair and mustache and what some might call beady little eyes… rumor has it, his hair started turning white when he was my age…too much stress. I hope I'm not next.

"Eight forty-five on Christmas Eve and Peeta Mellark is still at his desk. There's a Hallmark moment for you…" Snow smirks at me for a moment before heading over to my bar, like he's done it a million times.

"Cliff," I say, I'm one of the few employees who do not have to call him Mr. Snow. "I don't see you rushing home to trim the tree."

"That's because I'm a heartless bastard who only cares about money," Snow replies as he pours himself a glass of my most expensive scotch.

"And God love you for it." Snow is completely on the money when he says that he's a heartless bastard…never has a truer statement been made. Snow may not me a warm and fuzzy guy (in fact, I've heard that his grandkids are afraid to give him hugs) but he knows his business. He is one of the wealthiest men in America and he is grooming me to be just like him, I can't ask for a better boss.

"I just got a call from Bob Beetee. Philip Heavensbee is nervous…" Snow sinks down into one of my leather couches, slowly sipping his scotch.

"That'll happen when you're about to spend forty billion dollars on some aspirin…"

"Someone's going to have to nurse him through this."

I know exactly where this is going. "Why are you staring at my breasts, Cliff?"

"I need you tiger." Snow grins like the Cheshire cat.

"Where is he?"

"Aspen," Snow states, not skipping a beat.

I turn to Portia, who's become quiet since Snow entered my office. "Call my parents, tell them I won't be able to make it tomorrow…" Portia nods but I still see her roll her eyes before I turn back to my boss.

"You're a credit to capitalism, Peeta."

"If you say so," I turn back to Portia when an idea pops into my head. "Hey Cliff, let me ask you a question. An old girlfriend calls you out of the blue on Christmas Eve…"

Snow seems very much intrigued, "Are you suddenly having trouble getting dates?"

"Not by a long shot," I scoff, if he only knew the night I'd had last night. He's been married for forty years but I'm sure that most of those years have been spent with many a mistress.

"Then leave it to the past. Old flames are like old tax returns. You keep them in the file cabinet for three years and then you cut them loose," Snow replies before sipping more scotch.

I can't help but shoot Portia a satisfied grin and I crumple up Katniss' message and toss it right into my garbage can, perfect shot. "I'll leave for Aspen from the office tomorrow afternoon. Call the group and schedule an emergency strategy session for noon tomorrow."

Portia nods, "That'll be a nice little holiday treat."

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**I know this chapter was kind of a filler but I think it's important to establish Peeta's high-end lifestyle and important job. Also, I'm not the best at writing in first person but I think this story works best if it's in Peeta's point of view. Thanks for reading and please let me know what you think!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A short but pivotal chapter! I hope you like it!**

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It's late by the time I finally leave the office. For some odd reason, I've got a craving for eggnog. I make a stop at a brightly lit deli called Sae's. I come here a lot for little things and it's only down the street from my building. The owner, Sae, makes great stew. It's a good thing I stopped because it seems like this is the only store open late on Christmas Eve. There's a nerdy college kid at the salad bar, a drunken department store Santa eyeing the liquor display and a woman with a crying baby at the register. Thankfully she leaves as I approach the register…the last thing that I need is to hear a crying baby.

"Hey Sae, you have any egg nog?"

"Dairy case," Sae points down the middle aisle, she's woman of very few words.

"Thanks," I head toward the Dairy case when I nearly collide with an older gentleman who seemed to have come out of nowhere. "Sorry."

He ignores me completely as he approaches the register, "Y'all do the lotto here…? Cause I got me a winner…I know, I know, Lotto keeps the man down...but not me…"

I can hear him muttering about the lottery even after I've grabbed my eggnog. I wait patiently behind him while he continues to annoy Sae (and myself) at the register.

"6…14…18...48…right there. Four numbers…that's two hundred and thirty eight dollars!" The man with graying blonde hair and a somewhat ripe stench seems excited about his lottery ticket. "Merry Christmas and shit…Fa la la la la, I'm rich bitches!" Yeah, two hundred and thirty eight dollars…alert the media, we've got a billionaire on our hands…give me a break.

Sae barely has to look at the man's ticket, "This ticket is bad. You've drawn in lines with a pencil."

"What're you talkin' about?" The man asks.

Sae throws the ticket back at him; "You drew lines with a pencil, that's against the law. "

"What! Look at the ticket…I'm…"

"Get out of here or I'm calling 911," Sae cuts him off.

"You're lookin' at me, you're not even lookin' at the ticket!"

"Just get out of here, take your damn ticket somewhere else," Sae does not take shit from anyone. "Next customer in line."

I start to move forward but the crazy man isn't budging, " Look, you old crazy bitches are all the same. Just trying to keep…"

"Get out!" Sae screams and she means business, I've never seen her this angry before.

"No, look at the goddamn ticket!"

I feel the need to intervene because I feel like I'm about to witness a murder in a minute. Crazy guy looks well crazy and Sae looks murderous and I'm 99.9 percent sure that she keeps a handgun on the lower shelf behind the cash register. "Um…could I possibly see the ticket?" I ask, I have no idea what the hell I'm doing.

The blonde crazy guy turns to look at me, giving me a menacing stare. "Was I talkin' to you?"

"Maybe I'll buy it from you."

"Guy in $2,000 dollar suit gets ass kicked tryin' to be a hero. Check it out the news at eleven…What? Oh no, not another lookie-loo. You know how big a job this is?"

I have no idea what he's talking about and now I'm starting to get nervous. What the hell was I thinking? I had no reason to get into the middle of this, "Um…"

"You're double bookin' me! You're gonna get double billed! Shit!"

"Hey, c'mon…"

In a flash, crazy guy whips a .38 from the back of his pants, aiming it at my face. Sae screams but I try to keep my cool even though I feel like shitting my pants. "Do you want to die?" He screams in my face.

I stare at crazy, my mouth is dry and even though I've opened my lips, nothing comes out, "N…"

"DO YOU WANNA DIE?"

"No…no," I'm finally able to speak and shockingly enough, I don't vomit as I do.

"Yes you do," Crazy guy smiles at me.

"Look, I'm talking about a business deal here. I buy the ticket for two hundred, take it to a store and look I've just made myself a quick thirty eight dollars." Crazy guy doesn't say anything and I don't know why I'm still talking…oh god, I have diarrhea of the mouth. I'm going to die because I have diarrhea, what a way to go…well diarrhea of the mouth, anything. I'm going to get shot because of my stupidity. "Like I said, it's business deal…"

"Damn, you are the real thing…"Crazy guy narrows his eyes, smiles and puts his gun back into his pants. "C'mon, Peeta, let's get outta here."

I feel myself suddenly being taken out of the deli. I can't seem to find my voice again and Sae doesn't say anything…for all she knows this crazy guy could be about to murder me in the street…thanks a lot Sae.

"So Peeta…"

"H…how do you know my name?"

"Peeta Mellark, I've seen you in the papers many times and just recently in that write up in Forbes…hottest young banker on the market and single, too. What a catch!"

"Oh," It's all I can say; I know that I have been in the paper a lot, even gracing Page 6 with a few evening exploits.

"You know Peeta, you seem pretty relaxed for a guy who just had a gun pulled on him.  
"There's no way I was going to die in that deli…" I shrug and lie, did this guys seriously not notice that I was practically shaking, "Let's just say I've been on a lucky streak lately."

"A lucky streak, huh?"

I nod, "Hey, I still owe you money, a deals a deal." I reach into my overcoat for my wallet and quickly pull out two hundred dollars.

"Sound pretty sure of yourself, don't you?" I hand him the money. "So you're telling me, you've got a gun to your head and you don't think for one second, what if this…what if that…maybe I shouldn't do this…I shoulda done that."

"I don't do that. That's just not for me…I've pretty much got everything that I could possibly need or want."

Crazy guy looks at me before smiling, "Okay, Peeta. Nice doing business with you…Ok, Haymitch is about to take off now...that's my name by the way, and don't you forget it. I have a feeling that we'll be seeing each other real soon." Haymitch turns to leave.

"Hey…" I stop him before he can leave. "What do you want to carry that gun around for, anyway? You're just going to do something that you'll regret…"

"You want to talk about regrets, you're talking to the wrong person."

"I'm just saying that you seem like a smart guy. At a certain point you're going to do something, and then there's no turning back…"

"Yeah, in most cases that'd be true."

"I mean there must be programs out there, opportunities…"

Haymitch laughs a deep laugh, "Wait a minute, wait a minute…you're tryin' to save me?" I can't help but look at him like he's crazy, which I've determined to be true. "Oh man, you're serious…!" He laughs maniacally before running out into the empty street. "This man thinks I need to be saved!"

"Everyone needs something."

Haymitch stares at me, "Yeah? What do you need?"

"Me?"

He nods, still staring intently at me, "Yeah you, you just said that everyone needs something."

"I've got everything I need."

"Wow. It must be great being you. You got it all…huh man?" Haymitch runs back to me and takes my hand, shaking it vigorously all the while; he has a wide smile plastered on his face.

"Look, I'm not saying you'd be able to do it without some hard work…"

Haymitch cackles, "You still think this is about me, don't you?" He looks very much amused.

"Sure it's about you. But it's about society, too."

"Oh man, I'm gonna enjoy this one…Just remember, Peeta, you did this. You brought this on yourself…"

And with that Haymitch turns and leaves me alone in the street. I've completely forgotten that I've still got the bottle of eggnog in my hand…Merry Christmas to me. I'm grateful that Haymitch's crazy ass didn't blow my brains out as I hop into my Ferrari and drive home. I'm so exhausted by the time I make it to my building that I'm trudging into my penthouse with my eyes half closed. I follow my normal routine, putting my gloves and overcoat in the closet, check the mail, strip off my clothes and crawl into bed. I grab the tiny remote off my nightstand and with the press of a button, my curtains close quickly…darkness fills my room and I'm able to drift off to sleep.

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**Thanks so much for reading, please let me know what you think.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for all the great reviews, favorites and alerts.**

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The next morning, I slowly open my eyes and something feels strange. I see a head full of brown locks when I look down to my chest. There's a woman's head resting on top of me. I'm utterly confused and I'm having a hard time remembering the previous evening. Did I meet a woman last night? There's a strange sound coming from somewhere in the room, like hard breathing, panting. I don't think its coming from the woman in my bed…at least I hope not

"Jesus," I grumble when I turn my head and there's a mutt sitting faithfully beside the bed.

Why was there a dog here? Did this woman have a dog? I glance down at the woman again; I have to crane my neck to get a better look at her face. And then I see her…really see her and all I can think is oh my god. Katniss Everdeen! Katniss Everdeen is in my bed. My god, she's more beautiful than ever…she's radiant and looks utterly content, sleeping soundly.

My head darts around the room; it's cramped and lived in, there are clothes and toys strewn about, family photos on the dresser, a four-post bed that looked like it came from Pottery Barn and a charming little bay window. I instinctively reach out for my Gucci watch on the nightstand but it's not there. Instead there's a Fossil watch, where is my $2,000 watch not this $200 piece of crap watch. I pick it up just to see the time and it reads, 7:20 A.M. I look back at Katniss and rub my eyes, maybe I'm dreaming but nothing changes, even after I rub my eyes again.

Katniss is beginning to stir, "Mmm, ten more minutes, Peeta, it's Christmas."

My heart jumps at the sound of Katniss' voice; it's been years since I've heard her speak. Suddenly, the door bursts open and a little girl, maybe around six, wearing a little red nightgown, scurries into the room. She's carrying a round, little brown haired chubby baby boy. She's singing at the top of her lungs and the baby looks like he's about to choke with the girls arms around him. What the hell is going on?

"Jingle bells, Santa smells, Rudolph laid an egg…la la la, la la la, la la la la…" The little blonde girl with grey eyes places the boy down on the bed before jumping up herself. "You too, Buttercup." And the dog faithfully jumps up onto the bed, joining the rest of us and leaving very little room on the queen sized bed. The girl starts jumping on the bed, "Rise and shine, people!"

Katniss is moving again, "You're jumping, sweetheart. No jumping on the bed," She murmurs against my chest.

I look from Katniss to those unruly children to that ugly dog and my brain hurts. Is this what Hell looks like? Am I in the depths of Hell?

"Mommy, don't you think we need to open presents now?"

Katniss is still groggy when she answers her a moment later, "Mommy needs five more minutes in la la land. That could be your present to me."

The baby crawls up onto my stomach and suddenly I'm covered in drool. I think I might be sick, "Oh god," I whisper to myself.

"C'mon, Daddy. Get up!" The girl squeals as she plops herself back on the bed.

She said "Daddy." That's it; I need to get the hell out of here. I move the baby over and then get out of bed as fast as I can but not before I find myself stumbling over a baseball bat on the floor. "Shit," I grumble as I step on some random Barbie. Why are there so many damn toys in here?

"Daddy," the little girl looks at me again. Why does she keep calling me that? "Where are your clothes?"

"Oh fuck," I look down absolutely mortified and see that I'm naked with two little children looking at me.

"Mommy, Daddy said two bad words."

"Peeta," Katniss mumbles my name, currently face down on the bed now that I've gotten up.

I ignore her as I find a pair of grey sweatpants and a green t-shirt on the loveseat at the foot of the bed.

"Peeta," Katniss mumbles again, still half asleep, she reaches out her hand to me but I'm too far away for her to reach me. She finally opens her beautiful, big grey eyes and it's happened, we've finally made eye contact. I'm certain that she's about to scream as to why some strange ex-boyfriend is in her room. "Make strong coffee, okay."

I inch myself out of the room, not bothering to say anything as I do. I'm rushing down the hallway and nearly collide with a laundry basket before I make it to the stairs. From my vantage point, I can see a garishly decorated Christmas tree in the middle of the living room, there are a bevy of gifts underneath and four red stockings hung over the fireplace. I find myself darting down the stairs as I hear Katniss' voice again.

"Super strong coffee, Peeta!" She calls from the bedroom. "Use a whole bag if you need too!"

The front door is calling my name and I open a random door besides it…bingo, the front closet. I grab a navy blue overcoat from a wooden hanger and throw it on. I'm about to step out when I realize that I'm barefoot. The only shoes I can find that don't belong to children are a pair of rubber rain boots by the front door. I slip them on as fast as I can and I'm about to get a taste of freedom when the sound of a key turning stops me in my tracks. The door opens and arms full with gifts, in walks Thomas and Brooke Mellark…my parents.

"Mom? Dad?"

My dad hugs me as best he can with an armful of gifts, "Merry Christmas to you, son."

"Merry Christmas, darling," My mom plants a big fat kiss on my cheek, "Talk to him Peeta. Please. One day a year away from the market. I don't think that's too much to ask."

"I heard that, Brooke," My dad winks at me. "Tell her Peeta! You're the only one that gets me, for god's sake."

"I…" I don't know what to say, I'm shocked to see them and I still want to escape.

"I need some eggnog," my mom states as she struggles to add her presents under the tree. "Peeta, do you have any?"

Dad rolls his eyes, "Of course you do. Hell, it's almost 7:30 a.m.," My dad joins her by the tree and puts his presents down. As soon as he does my mom starts to rearrange them. "Where are my two lil pardners? Lily! Ollie! Giddy up, Grandpa's here!"

"Excuse me," I say quickly and do the only thing that I can think of…I dash out the front door.

"Where are you going, Peeta?" I hear my mother shout after me. "Tom, where's he going?"

"Damned if I know…" My dad answers her.

I'm in the driveway and my Ferrari is nowhere in sight…now I'm angry. I run back to the house, "Where's my car? Where's my Ferrari?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" My father asks, "What's he talking about?" He asks my mother.

"Peeta, I thought you stopped doing the marijuana when Lily was born," my mother says, looking at me skeptically.

"Look, can I just borrow your car? I promise it'll be returned?"

"The Caddy? Why don't you take your own damn car?" My father huffs in response.

"Oh just let him borrow your precious Cadillac for god's sake," My mother states.

"He's got a perfectly good mini-van sitting out there in the driveway!"

"Whatever," I turn around and finally spot two sets of key on a hook against the wall. I grab the closest one to me and run back to the driveway. I'm met with a silver Hondo Odyssey mini van and an Acura sedan. I click the unlock button and just my luck; it's the mini van that unlocks. Oh well, this shitty mini van will just have to do. I race to the silver mini-van and notice a "My Ferrari Is In The Shop" sticker on the rear bumper…kill me. I'm in the van and screeching down the driveway in record time. I'm not driving for long when I see a sign… "George Washington Bridge—3 miles." I reach Manhattan in record time and I know exactly where I'm heading. It doesn't take me long until I'm pulling up to my luxurious apartment building. I'm leaping out of the door and running towards the grand entrance when I spot him. Tony the doorman is standing right outside just like always.

"Tony, thank god!" I start to walk past him but suddenly Tony is blocking my way.

"Sorry, pal. Entrance is for residents and guests only."

I'm utterly perplexed; doesn't he know who I am? "What are you talking about? It's me, Peeta Mellark, Penthouse C. I put you into commercial paper!"

"Uh-huh."

"Please, Tony," I start to plead when I catch sight of a yacking little dog. "Elizabeth Peterson!"

"Who is this man?" Mrs. Peterson asks Tony, before sizing me up. Tony shrugs his shoulders in response.

"You know me, Betty. You do. Peeta Mellark. We're on the co-op board together. We fought side by side for garbage disposals. Every morning we exchange quasi-sexual witty banter. Think…" I know I sound like a madman but I'm desperate.

"Should I call the cops?" Tony asks Mrs. Peterson, "I'm gonna call the cops."

"No, it's ok," Mrs. Peterson holds up her hand to Tony. "Peeta?" She questions.

I let out a sigh of relief, "Thank you, Betty. I know if I can just sleep this off, I'll be fine."

"And sleep you shall. Noblesse oblige is not dead. Not yet anyway. Come; let's get you some help. Surely there must be a shelter somewhere open on Christmas Day in the city," Mrs. Peterson reaches out her hand to me in pity.

"A shelter? I'm the richest guy in the building! I've got twice the square footage you have!" I'm shouting now, adding another notch on my lunatic belt.

"Tony, perhaps you should call the authorities now dear," Mrs. Peterson says before she heads down the street with the fur ball she calls a dog.

"You heard her, sir," Tony reaches into his pocket and pulls out his cell phone.

"Ugh, don't bother," I'm beyond frustrated as I turn and run back to the mini-van. I'm at a loss and I don't know where to go. I'm driving around aimlessly through the busy New York Streets, even though it's Christmas Day; the streets are still alive with life. It isn't until I see a man in an expensive suit walking down Broadway when I realize where I need to go…Work!

I'm thrilled to see Darius, the security guard, perched at his normal desk in the lobby. "Darius!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa…hold, it right there!" Darius stands up, looking me up and down.

"Darius. Where's Seneca Crane? Is he here yet?"

"Mr. Crane?" Darius chuckles. "I don't think so, building's closed pal. You'll have to come back tomorrow."

"Look, I don't know what's going on here but I am Senior Vice President of this company."

"I don't care who you are. It's Christmas and like I told you the building is closed," Darius crosses his arms across his chest, thinking that he's intimidating me.

I am so sick of this shit. "Maybe you're not hearing me. I am Peeta Mellark," I'm walking towards the building's directory, intent on proving who I am. "Right here, Peeta Mellark, President…" My blood turns cold as soon as I see it; I think that I'm actually shaking…there in plain black and white "Seneca Crane-President." I look from the directory to Darius and back to the directory again. I think I'm going to be sick. With a pitying look from Darius, I walk out of the building, still in complete and utter shock.

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**Thanks for reading, let me know what you guys think!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks for all the great review, story alerts, and favorites! I'm thrilled that so many people are enjoying this story.**

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It's snowing when I walk outside, I spot the mini-van on the street but I have no desire to get into it. So, I keep walking…unsure of where I'm going and unsure of whom I am and why no one recognizes me? I don't even realize I'm crossing the street until I hear a loud screech.

"Hey! Watch where you're walking! You almost dented my three hundred and fifty nine thousand dollar car!"

I look up and see a Ferrari; scratch that… my Ferrari is inches away from me and inside is one crazy guy aka Haymitch! I'm stunned, trapped in the street. "Haymitch?"

"Miss me, Peeta? Just be careful where you're walking, this is my baby here!" He says patting the steering wheel. "You know this car is worth like twenty of your little shitty mini-vans! I feel like I really did win the lottery!"

"That's my car! You stole my car!" I'm fuming now, how did this asshole get my car?

"It's a callable asset seized in accordance with acquisition by-laws of your alt-fate contract." Haymitch rattles off and I have no idea what the hell he is saying.

"What?"

"Basically, it's my car now. Get in." Haymitch reaches over to the passenger seat and opens the door for me. I'm very hesitant to go anywhere with this lunatic but I want my car back, a.s.a.p. "Look, I don't make the rules, Peeta. This is how it works. Get in."

"Fine," I say after a reassuring look from Haymitch and climb into the car. I really don't think that this day could get any worse and Haymitch owes me an explanation as to what in the hell is going on here.

"Might wanna fasten your seat belt, Peeta," Haymitch smirks before he drives off in a burst of acceleration.

"What the hell is happening to me?"

"Here," Haymitch throws a brown paper bag at me.

"Thanks, I think," I have no idea where the bag came from but I'm suddenly hyperventilating into the bag.

"This kinda thing makes a lotta guys throw up. Seen it happen. So if you get the urge, do it out the window," Haymitch taunts me with a cackle of sorts. "I don't want you marring this exquisite leather interior."

"I…I can't breathe," I choke into the bag, almost gagging.

"Look, I don't know what you're getting so worked up about, you did this…you brought this on yourself."

"Brought what on myself? I didn't do anything!"

"No? C'mon, Peeta…I've got everything I need, I don't have regrets, that's just not for me. Sound familiar?"

"You mean because you thought I was cocky I'm now on a permanent acid trip!"

Haymitch laughs and I know that it's at my expense, "Listen, everyone else in that store was a statue, didn't do anything but not you. You're making a business deal."

I'm enraged now, "Give me my godddamn life back!" I'm shaking almost violently but this is probably the angriest I've ever been in my entire life.

"You? What about me? I'm working hard for you here, Peeta. On Christmas too! Now you did a good thing last night, intervening that way. I was moved."

"Please," I interrupt him, "Just tell me what's happening to me. In plain English, no more crazy mumbo jumbo."

Haymitch turns to me and in all seriousness, begins speaking, "It's a glimpse, Peeta."

"A glimpse? A glimpse of what? What glimpse? Glimpse!"

Haymitch nods, "Look, eventually, everybody gets one…some of 'em take a couple of second and some of 'em take a lot longer."

"I asked you a direct question! A glimpse of what?"

Haymitch gives me a knowing look, "Figure it out. You got plenty of time."

"How much time?"

"As long as it takes to figure it out. Which, in your case, could be considerable."

"Look, I just want my life back. Now what's it going to take? You want to talk money? How much money do you want? I'll even let you keep the car!"

Haymitch is relishing this moment and flashes me a smile, "Do I look like I need your money? It doesn't work like that and I can't tell you why."

"Why not?"

"Because you got to figure it out for yourself. Are you listening to me?"

I'm just so confused, it's like this guy is speaking Latin. "Figure it out? Figure what out?" Haymitch just glares at me and his smug little face just angers me even further. "That's it? That's all I get? A glare!"

"Look Peeta, in my experience the best way people deal with this is just to relax and breathe through it…let it come to you."

"Look, I don't have time for this right now. I'm in the middle of a deal."

"Oh you're working on a new deal now, did I mention that?"

"You know what? I've had it with you. I've had it with all of this shit! "

Haymitch slams on the brakes and I fly up through my seat, almost hitting the windshield, "Sorry about that."

"Yeah I bet you are," I roll my eyes and look out the window. I don't know how long we were driving but we're back in front of my office and there's that stupid mini-van, taunting me again.

"Here," Haymitch hands me a small plastic bag.

I'm skeptical as I open it and find a pink Barbie bicycle bell, "What's this, a signal? Will you come whenever I ring it?"

"Do I look like I live in a damn bottle?" Haymitch reaches over and opens the door.

"But what do I do?" I'm still so lost and confused.

"Look Peeta I'm late. I'd love to help you out some more but I gotta go handle my business," Haymitch points to the silver mini-van, "Happy trails."

"Hey, you did this to me, you can't just leave me like this."

"Fine. You want to know everything, I'll tell you everything. But not here, let's get some air."

I'm still a little unsure but I see Haymitch open the driver's side door so I decide to get out too, "Thanks, man," I say relieved after I get out of the car.

Before I can even turn around, Haymitch slams his door shut and he takes off in a blast of horsepower. There's nothing I can do as I stand on the sidewalk as Haymitch disappears down the street. It's still snowing and the temperature must have dropped at least fifteen degrees. Shivering, I look up at the C.A. Snow and Associates building, which I apparently no longer work at, and then down to the little plastic bag in my hand and finally to the mini-van parked right in front of me. Damn it, there's only one thing I can do…I have to go to Panem, New Jersey to the town I grew up in and to the girlfriend that I abandoned many years before.

Traffic is horrific and it takes me almost two hours to get back to Panem. I'm trying to navigate this crappy GPS system as I drive through the curved streets of what I think is my new neighborhood. I spot a man dressed in nice jeans and a dark sweater, clearly in his early thirties like myself, carrying a bag of what looks to be boxes and wrapping paper to a garbage can. There's a beautiful brunette woman behind him getting into a GMC Arcadia, she's carrying a neatly wrapped present and a casserole dish. They look like nice enough people and I'm extremely lost so I pull up to the curb to ask for directions.

"Excuse me. Do you know where Merrison Street is?"

The man looks up from the garbage cans and turns to what appears to be his wife, "Johanna! I found Peeta!"

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**Sorry this is so short but the next chapters will be longer. Please review and let me know what you think! And who do you think just found Peeta (and is married to Johanna) ? **


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry that I haven't been able to update as much as I did in the beginning but I've had a very busy week. This week is going to be pretty hectic but I will definitely update at least once. I'm going to attempt to update twice but no promises. Thanks again, for all the reviews, favorites, and alerts. **

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I follow the man into the den of his garishly decorated suburban home. For some reason, he's got his arm around my shoulder, apparently we're good friends. I do have a feeling that I know him but I can't exactly place him from where.

"You look terrible, my man."

I pay him no attention as I take in the décor. It definitely has a man cave vibe too it- old pinball machine, 55-inch flat screen TV, dartboards, a kitschy retro style bamboo bar, some anchors on the wall and tons of sports memorabilia. And that's when I notice it, an old picture on the bar. There's a group of ten year old boys with ice cream smeared all over their faces, each one is holding a little trophy. I'm in this photo and so is this man. This man is the boy to my left in the photograph, number 22. Finnick Odair. I'm in Finnick Odair's house. We went to school together and always ended up on the same sports teams.

"Truth is I expected you. Katniss called before and asked if I knew where you were," Finnick says but notices that I'm staring at his den. "I know, I know. I moved the Lazy-boy next to the bar. It's throwin' everybody off. What do you think?"

"Uh great room," I nod, not knowing what else to say. Clearly I couldn't tell the guy that he had unbelievably tacky taste.

Finnick has a satisfied smile on his face and apparently my approval means something to him. "You and me, buddy. We know how to live." He sits down at the bar and motions for me to take a seat too. "So Peeta, you okay?"

I don't answer him as I've noticed another photo on the bar. It's Finnick and me from a few years ago, kissing a huge trophy with the caption, "Panem, N.J. Softball League Champs, 2008." Only, I have no memory of this photograph or of Finnick Odair, I haven't seen the guy since high school. I look up and see Finnick handing me a drink. "Uh, thank you."

"Welcome, buddy. So what's going on? I mean you leave the house on Christmas morning, you don't tell anyone where you're going…"

"We're friends, aren't we?"

"Maybe I don't say it enough but you moving in next door to me," Finnick makes a fist and gestures to his heart, "Talk to me, you know you can tell me anything. We're more than friends, we're family."

I sigh, "I'm having kind of a bad day."

Finnick nods, "I read somewhere that the suicide rate doubles during the holidays," I raise my brow at him. "What am I saying? You don't need to hear that. All I meant was that a lot of people have a hard time dealing with all the forced reverie, that's all. Is that you?"

"Is it?" I question, I have no idea who I am here.

"Trouble at work?"

"Um, I don't think so."

"It's not Katniss, is it?" I put my drink down at the mention of Katniss and Finnick's eyes go wide, he thinks he's figured out my problems and he seems quite proud. "You see, it's like we're in each other's heads."

"Katniss is my wife," I look to Finnick for confirmation.

"Just keep saying it, Peeta, like a mantra," He smiles playfully. "C'mon, I better walk ya home. She's mad enough as it is, right?"

I nod and follow Finnick out of his den. Seconds later we're in his backyard.

"Look, you fit the profile exactly. Thirties, house, kids, financial responsibilities. You start thinking; this isn't the life I dreamt about. Where's the romance, where's the joie de vivre? Suddenly, every lingerie ad in the Panem Tribune represents a life you can't have."

"It's just two kids, right?" Because I don't think I can handle anymore than that, I think to myself.

Finnick chuckles but keeps walking to the fence in the back of his yard, "You made a choice, Peeta, a promise to your wife. Maybe sometimes it seems like you gave up the world, but look what you got."

We're at the fence and I see the back of a decent sized craftsman house, there's a nice deck and big yard, cluttered with toys, a swing set and a tree house. "My house?"

"Five bedrooms, three and a half baths, and a great finished basement," Finnick grins as he opens the fence and we walk into the snow-covered yard.

"Shit," I curse as I trip over a purple tricycle.

"Kids," Finnick shakes his head knowingly before he walks up the steps leading to the deck and I follow him blindly. "Okay look, you probably don't want to hear this right now but remember what you told me last summer when I almost had that thing with little Finn's speech therapist."

I'm staring blankly. No, I don't remember last summer when you almost had that thing with little Finn's speech therapist. "Yeah," I lie, I have a feeling that I'm going to be doing a lot of lying during this…what did Haymitch call it? Oh yea, glimpse.

Finnick grabs me by the shoulders and looks me square in the eyes, "Don't screw up the best thing in your life just because you're a little unsure about who you are. Okay?" Finnick gives me a comforting smile and continues on, "God, it feels so good to finally give something back to you." He turns me towards the French doors connecting the house and deck. 'I'm gonna hug you now…" Before I can stop him, Finnick gives me a gentle hug and then pushes me inside. "Good luck," he says before walking away.

I step inside the house and find that I'm in the kitchen. I turn around to shut the doors and see that Finnick is half way through the yard already and closer to his own house. I turn around just as Katniss is entering the room; she's got the phone attached to her ear.

"Hold on a second," Katniss says into the phone. She cups the receiver with her hand.

I can't stop looking at her, she's dressed now, wearing a simple sweater dress and leggings, nothing fancy but she looks great as always…well as great as she used too when we were younger. "You…you cut your hair."

Katniss gives me a curious look, "Yeah, ten years ago." She's looking at me but I can't read her face. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine," I respond.

Katniss gives me a resolute nod before turning back to the phone, "Never mind, he just walked in."

I can't help but grimace as she slams the phone down on the kitchen island. I can read her face now, she's angry.

"Do you have any idea what you put us through? You walk out of here at 7:30 in the morning, don't tell me where you're going, or even that you're going and I don't see you until hours later. I had state troopers looking for you! I called hospitals," she's pointing at the phone, "I…I was just on the phone with the morgue for god's sake!" I watch her vent but don't speak. "What kind of man leaves his family on Christmas morning without a word about where he's going? What kind of man does that?"

"I don't know!" I say jumping in, "Please stop yelling at me!" I'm frustrated and I know I shouldn't be raising my voice at her, she thinks I'm her real husband but I'm not.

She's looking at me curiously, "Where were you?"

"I was in the city."

"The city?" Katniss questions. "New York City? Why?"

"Because that's where I live," I reply honestly.

"Peeta, don't even start."

I might as well be honest with her, we don't seem to be getting anywhere in our current conversation. "Look, you don't understand. I woke up here and…and this is very strange, this is not my house." Katniss is looking at me like I'm crazy but I have to make her understand. "I'm not 'Daddy'. Katniss, you're…you're not my wife."

Katniss is looking me over, assessing me almost, "You know what, Peeta? It's not funny this time. I'm really angry." She's staring at me, expecting me to answer but I don't know what to say. "Peeta!" She shouts loudly.

"I…look," I open the plastic bag that I've forgotten is still in my hands. I pull out the pink Barbie bell and begin ringing it furiously. Haymitch should appear and be able to straighten this all out. I've more than had enough with this so-called glimpse.

"Peeta!" Katniss throws her hands on her hips, her grey eyes glaring at me but I can't stop ringing the damn bell.

It's at that moment the little girl rides into the room a new pink Barbie bicycle. No training wheels but it has a nice big red bow still on it. Lily, I think I remember my father calling her that.

"What's that?" Lily questions and points to the bell in my hands. She quickly pedals over, reaches into my hand, and takes the bell from me. She looks it over carefully before smiling, "I like this," Lily jumps up and wraps her arms around me, "Thanks Daddy!" She jumps back on her bike and excitedly rides out of the room, leaving Katniss and me alone again.

"You missed the whole thing, Peeta. The pancakes, the presents…you spent six hours putting that bike together and you didn't even get to see the look on Lily's face when she opened it." No I didn't see it but I can clearly see the look of disappointment on Katniss' face, "You missed Christmas, Peeta."

I look down, almost ashamed, "I'm…I'm sorry," I relent, knowing that to Katniss I'm her husband and this is her life and I've ruined her day.

Katniss blinks a few tears back and I feel even guiltier. Katniss has always felt the need to be strong and if she's crying, I know that I've really hurt her, which wasn't my intention. I'm just trying to figure out how to get out of here. "Look we don't have time for this right now, we'll talk about it later. Now get dressed, you're not wearing that to the Hawthornes' party. I don't care how hilarious you think it is."

"Party? Oh no, I can't go to a party!" I don't even know what to say to Katniss, let alone a bunch of people. Besides, it's Christmas day, who the hell has a party on Christmas?

"You look forward to this party all year. What's with you today?"

I shake my head, "Trust me on this Katniss. I really don't think that going to a party is the right move for me at the present time."

"Fine," Katniss reaches for the phone again and begins to dial, "Do whatever you want."

"What are you doing?" I ask nervously.

"Telling my mother that she doesn't have to stay with the kids tonight."

"Why not?"

"Because you'll be here," Katniss replies, looking at me like I've gained another head.

"I'll be ready in twenty minutes!" There is no way that I am staying here with these children by myself. I hurry past her down the hallway and spot the stairs again. After I climb the stairs two by two, I open the first door I see. If I remember correctly, it's the master bedroom. I'm wrong; it's a linen closet. "Christ, where the hell is the bathroom?"

"Funny, Peeta. I'm laughing on the inside," Katniss rolls her eyes and turns down the hallway. I hadn't even realized that she had followed me up the stairs.

"You know me, I'm a funny guy," I follow her down the hallway, hoping she's going into the master bedroom or a bathroom.

"Hi baby," Katniss beams as we walk into a room that is clearly not the bathroom either. It's a nursery and there's the baby, Ollie…was it? The brown haired little tot is standing in his mahogany sleigh crib, arms up waiting to be held.

"Mama!" Ollie shouts as Katniss grabs him out of the crib and cradles him in her arms.

I look around the room unsure of what to do when I see a photo above the changing table. Katniss is holding a newborn Ollie in her hospital bed and I'm sitting on the edge of the bed with a younger looking Lily in my arms and we're all beaming except for Ollie who's sleeping. Engraved on the bottom of the frame is Oliver Thomas Mellark. Oliver Thomas; we must have named him after our fathers. Oliver Everdeen was Katniss' father, he died in a car accident when we were eleven…or at least he did in my real world, I'm not sure about this glimpse.

"Peeta!"

"Uh sorry, what?"

"Go shower so we're not late. I'm going to get dinner ready for the kids before my mom gets here," Katniss takes Ollie out of his room and she's back down the stairs just as I'm leaving the nursery.

I walk back down the hall and reach two double doors. I open them and sigh in relief. I've reached the master bedroom and the door to the master bathroom is wide open. I flip the switch in the bathroom and light illuminates the room. I can see myself in the mirror and I know that it's me but something's not right. I glance around and notice that bathroom is a decent size but it's cluttered with Katniss' things. I turn on the shower and hop it quickly, the water is incredibly hot but I don't think I can really feel it anyway. I'm positively numb, this day has taken so much from me, and I'm spent. I'm angry; I'm confused, I'm sad…I'm breaking down. I didn't realize it but I'm crying, sobbing in the shower. This isn't me! Snap the hell out of it Peeta! It's only a damn glimpse; I'll probably wake up tomorrow in my real life. I think that I can handle one lousy party.

I'm able to collect myself and finish my shower. I quickly dry off and grab one of two matching terry-cloth robes hanging from the door, it has my initials on it…how quaint. I walk out of the bathroom and into the bedroom, now where are my clothes? There's another door a few feet away from the bathroom. The master closet, phew, on one side is Katniss' clothing and on the other is mine. Well, middle class me because I don't think I'd be caught dead in most of this stuff. Most of the clothing is pretty casual but apparently I have a few suits but based on what Katniss was wearing, I think a suit would be too fancy. So I settle on a pair of dark jeans. Oh god, they're Levi's. "This is just," I can't even find the right words. "This is sub-par." I grab the jeans and a sports coat; at least it's Ralph Lauren. As I grab my clothes, I notice Lily in the bedroom door. As soon as she sees me, she scurries off. Oh well, if she really wanted anything, she would have said something. I don't really want to talk to her anyway; I doubt I'd have much in common with a six year old. Ok, now time to party, I just hope they have lots of booze.

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**So it was Finnick and not Gale! I think only two of you guessed correctly. I'm not a huge Gale fan but he will make an appearance next chapter. Thanks for reading and please let me know what you think. **


	7. Chapter 7

We're walking up the stone path of another tacky house. It's a tad bit smaller than ours but it looks newer. The outside is decorated with the most garish display of Christmas decorations, I haven't seen anything this ugly since I went to the circus as a child. When we reach the front door, Katniss, holding a tray of mini crab cakes, rings the doorbell. I'm shocked when the door swings open and Delly Cartwright comes into full view. And what a view it is, my oh my has she had some enhancements done. Delly is wearing a red dress that's a bit too tight and a bit too low cut but she's more than filled it out…her cup runneth over, if you know what I mean. If I recall, Delly was as flat chested as they come and there was a definitive bump on her nose. Delly and I were neighbors when we were growing up, I'm pretty sure that her parents still live next door to mine…well at least they do in my real life.

"Peeta! Katniss!" Delly smiles and turns to a tall brown haired man who is walking towards the foyer. "The Mellarks are here, honey."

"Hi Hawthornes," Katniss smiles genuinely.

"Catnip, hi," the brown haired man descends on my wife and kisses her cheek. Gale Hawthorne was the only person that called Katniss that stupid nickname. Gale had been Katniss' neighbor and it was obvious from a young age that he was in love with her. God, am I stupid, I didn't make the connection…but wait, Delly and Gale…married? Strange. This glimpse just keeps getting weirder and weirder.

"Gale, Delly," I find myself saying, trying to be somewhat pleasant.

"Peeta, my main man," Gale leans closer to me and I'm suddenly afraid he's going to kiss me too. "Cigars in a few…shhh don't tell the wives." I nod and force a smile.

"Everybody, Peeta and Katniss are here!" Delly announces as she turns to the guests.

Katniss walks in first as Delly takes her appetizers and I follow everyone inside. There's a loud whoop from the fifty or so guests and lots of waves. I guess we're a popular couple, although I'm not so sure if that's such a good thing right now. Gale leads Katniss into the living room and I'm about to follow her when Delly takes my arms.

"Like the dress?" Delly asks me, seeming a little suggestive.

"It's lovely…" I glance at it and keep my real opinions to myself. I don't think that Delly would appreciate me saying that she looks like a stuffed sausage.

Delly has a satisfied smile on her face, "I thought I saw you notice it at the kids' Christmas recital last week."

I nod, having no idea what's she talking about. I just want to catch up with Katniss. The party is already in full swing, there's Christmas music playing in the background, all of the guests are talking, laughter fills the room and the drinks seem to be flowing freely. I've already lost Katniss in the room. My eyes dart around the room and its decent looking I suppose, definitely neater than my house…my glimpse house I guess I should say. There are rambunctious three kids running in and out of the room, I assume they must be Delly and Gale's kids. I finally spot Katniss talking to a group of women and I'm just about to approach her when Gale calls me over to a group of guys, the only one I recognize besides Gale is Finnick.

"Did you see Lopez last night? This kid's gonna single-handedly save basketball in the state of New Jersey!" Gale exclaims.

"The Nets? You're kidding, right?" I'm in shock, who likes the Nets? It's the Knicks all the way. Apparently all of these men do as they're staring at me in disbelief. "Well, they're certainly due," I say trying to recover.

We're quickly joined by a short, but obese balding man who has a huge pile of fried chicken wings on his plate. "So, tomorrow's the big day, Peeta," He grins as he pats me on the back.

"Okay…why?" I ask him.

"Triple bypass. I'm going under the knife. I told you, didn't I?"

"Triple bypass?" I motion to his plate, "You really think you should be eating all that?"

He shrugs, "Why not? I figure I'm going in for a cleaning tomorrow, I might as well load up on the fried stuff tonight."

"Good thinking, Jackson. Have another drink, too." Finnick closes the small gap between us and slyly whispers, "He'll be lucky if he lives through the night."

"Come on fellows," Gale's grinning like an idiot as he leads us down the hallway and eventually out the back door. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a packet of Dutch Masters cigars. Could he been any cheaper? He shows them to me and I nod politely. Gale passes them around the small group of guys: me, Finnick, Jackson, and two other guys that I don't know. He pulls out a lighter from his other pocket and lights the cigars. Gale's smiling at me as he enjoys his first puff. I guess I have to take one too, I'm trying my best to fit in but it really is an effort.

After the cigars, we head back into the house and it seems like a few more party guests have arrived. Gale goes to greet his new guests and the others seek out more food. I see Katniss talking to another couple and I'm about to join them when Delly approaches, a tray of mushroom puffs in her hand.

"Finger food?" Delly holds out a puff to me.

"I don't think so, no thank you," I reply.

"Come on, as soon as I put them down, you're going to grab a couple. You always do, Peeta."

"Um sure," Clearly Delly does not know how to take 'no' for an answer.

Delly holds the puff up to mouth, slowly putting it near my lips, "Let me. They'll melt in your mouth." I instinctively open my mouth and Delly pushes the treat inside. "Good?"

"They're great! Thank you!" I'm forcing the words and a smile. Those mushroom puffs are the vilest thing I've tasted since the meatloaf I made in Home Economics class during my high school years.

Delly licks her finger suggestively then hands me the entire tray with a sexy smile. "Mushroom puffs aren't the only thing I do well."

It's then that I notice that Katniss is watching this little exchange from across the room. "Well do whatever it is you do well, and just…just do it. Excuse me, please." I quickly escape the awkward situation and make my way out of the living room. I pass the kitchen and walk into the first open door I see. It's an office and all of the coats seem to be piled in here. I set the mushroom puffs on the desk next to a football shaped phone. Who the hell has a football shaped phone these days?

It's only a matter of seconds before I start dialing a familiar number. "Clifford Snow, please. What do you mean he won't come to the phone? Do you realize how much money I've made for that son of a bitch in the last eight years?" Click and then there's the unmistakable sound of a dial tone. "Damnit!" I slam the phone down in frustration. "Damnit! Damnit! Damnit!

"Peeta?"

I turn around and see Katniss standing in the doorway, "Hi…hi, Katniss."

"Are you sure you're okay."

I force a smile, "Yes, I'm fine. It's just this god-awful football phone! Who has a phone like this anyway?"

"Uh huh," Katniss nods doubtfully. "You must really love Delly's mushroom puffs."

"Oh," I look down on the desk and notice the tray of evil food, I had completely forgotten about them.

"You know they're not real," Katniss winks at me before turning and leaving the room.

I'm confused for a moment until I realize that she's talking about Delly's chest. Had I been staring at Delly's over enhanced breasts during the whole mushroom puff incident? I leave the office and the mushroom puffs behind. I take care of business in the bathroom next door before I join the party again. When I do, Katniss appears to be the center of attention with a large group of guests around her. She's so animated when she speaks and I hear a little laughter form the group, as I get closer to hear. It's kind of ironic to see Katniss speaking to so many people; she was always a little shy and non-social. I was always the social butterfly when we were dating. I catch her eye and she quickly smiles at me before she keeps speaking.

"…then she asks me to put this sweater on. What choice do I have, right?" Katniss is charming the crowd as everyone nods. "But as I'm slipping it on I notice she's misspelled the word, lawyers. I had to go through the entire day wearing a hand-embroidered sweater that said, "Non-Profit Layers Do It For Free."

I find myself laughing right along with all the other guests until I begin speaking. "So you're a lawyer?" There's a chuckle from the group but Katniss is staring at me, confused. "A non-profit lawyer." People are still laughing.

"Peeta," Katniss whispers, embarrassed.

"Pro bono. You don't get paid at all. Nobody makes a dime. Well, bravo!" No wonder we live in Panem, she's barely making any money and who knows what the hell I do. I'm clearly not making bank at Snow and Associates. I realize that everyone's staring blankly at me, including Katniss until she walks away, quite embarrassed. Shit.

"Real nice, Peeta," Johanna glares at me before going after Katniss.

"Time to lay off the scotch, Peeta," Finnick jokes, trying to clear the air. A few guests laugh and my little outburst seems to be forgotten as Finnick grabs my shoulder and moves me to a quiet corner of the room. "I thought you were ok, man."

"I'm still having a bad day."

"If I were you, I'd go apologize before you end up sleeping in the guest room."

"Right, I should apologize." That's what husbands do when they upset their wives; they apologize so I guess I should too.

"She's probably in the bathroom with Johanna, you know how women are."

I nod before taking off to find Katniss. Finnick's right, Katniss and Johanna are in the bathroom. "Katniss," I knock on the door.

"You're an ass Peeta Mellark," Johanna glares at me as she comes out of the bathroom. I try to go in but she quickly shuts the door, narrowly missing my fingers. "Just a minute."

"Johanna, I don't have time for this."

"Oh but you have time to disappear for most of the day while your wife and parents are frantic. Do you have any idea what you put her through? It's Christmas, Peeta!"

Who the hell does this broad think she is? We may be friends here but I don't know who the hell she is and I'm not going to let her talk to me like this. No one talks to me like this, ever. "Listen, I don't know why you think…"

"No, you listen up Mellark! You need to step it up and stop being such a shitty husband. Katniss doesn't need your shit right now, you know this pregnancy hasn't been easy on her."

Oh my god, my heart has dropped into my stomach! Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! Katniss is pregnant! Three kids, isn't two little monsters enough? What is wrong with these people, has anyone ever heard of condoms? Before I can speak, Finnick joins us.

"Everything ok here?" Finnick asks as he wraps his arms around his irate wife. I'm still trying to pull my heart out of my stomach and back to its proper place in my chest.

"Fine, honey, I'm just telling your best friend that he's a shitty husband," Johanna glares at me.

"That's nice dear. How about some wine?" Finnick leads her by the waist and out of my sight.

"But I'm not finished," I can hear Johanna complaining even though they're out of sight.

I suck in a deep breath before I knock on the door once again. I'm trying not to freak out about this pregnancy. Besides, I shouldn't be here long enough for it to even concern me. "Katniss, can I come in?"

She opens the door and it's clear she's been crying but she's got her cell phone to her ear. "No, it's okay. I'm not feeling very well anyway. Don't worry about it, ok? Bye." Katniss hangs up on whoever she's talking to and puts the phone in her purse.

"Katniss. I'm so sorry. I'm having…"

"A bad day," She finishes for me.

I nod and I realize that Johanna's right, I'm an ass. I hope that her real husband, my alternate universe self is a hell of a lot nicer than I am. "But that shouldn't matter."

Katniss nods, "I'm going to go home and..."

Now, it's my turn to interrupt, "No, Katniss! We can stay, I'll be on my best behavior, I promise."

"No, my mom needs to go to the hospital."

"Is she alright?"

Katniss furrowed her brow at me, "She's fine, and the hospital is just really short of staff tonight so she needs to take this shift."

"Oh right," I completely forgot that Katniss' mother is a nurse.

"You don't have to go, though. You should stay and have fun."

"Trust me, I won't be having any fun if you're not with me," I reply truthfully. "Come on," I offer her my hand and I'm grateful that she accepts. We say quick goodbyes to Delly and Gale before we walk home.

We walk in the front door and the dog, Buttercup, greets us happily.

"I'm so sorry you had to come home early, but I've got two nurses out sick with the flu," Katniss' mother, Laurel, says as she came in from the kitchen.

"Mom, don't worry about it," Katniss responds "Where are the kids?"

"Oliver is sleeping and Lily is watching a movie in the family rom. Well, I better get going," Laurel gives Katniss a hug and then proceeds to give me one too.

"Uh goodnight," I'm definitely caught off guard by her affection. "Do you need any help to the car?" The least I can do is be polite.

"Oh, I'm fine Peeta, thanks for the offer. Merry Christmas kids."

"Merry Christmas, mom," Katniss smiles and soon Laurel grabs her coat and purse and is soon at the door. "Ok, I'm going to put Lily to bed," Katniss opens the closet door and takes her coat off. "Here you go," She pulls out a pink leash from the closet.

"You're kidding me."

"She's your dog, Peeta."

"No, she's not."

"Fine, she's the kids' dog. Let's go wake Ollie, see if he wants to walk her."

"But its twenty five degrees outside.  
"Oh right, you're having a bad day, I'll go with you after I put Lily to sleep," Katniss heads off toward the kitchen, "Actually," she says as she whips around to face me, "There's no way in hell you're getting me back out there."

"Fine," I mumble under breath. Buttercup seems very excited as I attach her leash.

"Make sure you reward her verbally when she does number two."

"Kill me now," I whisper as I'm walking out the front door. Soon, I'm being dragged down the street by Buttercup. She sniffs at everything from fire hydrants to garbage cans but she won't do her business.

"Figure it out. I'm screwed, you don't have to be a genius to figure that out." Buttercup stops at a lawn. "It's as good a place as any to go." Quickly, she keeps moving, pulling me with her. "Obviously that yard wasn't up to your high standards." Since I'm by myself, I might as well try to figure out my situation again. "Okay, Haymitch said you're working on a new deal. Fine, you've done a thousand deals, what's the first thing you do? Triage. It's your signature. You survey the damage, find out everything you can, you probe, leave nothing to chance. I'm just going to have to go detective. How did you get Crest? You learned everything there was to know about toothpaste and then you pounced," Right, I pounced on that deal. "That's our play here." Buttercup is still pulling me along and I'm starting to freeze my ass off. "If you could take a dump some time in this century, then we could go home where it's warm." I'm looking around and we're so far into the neighborhood, that nothing looks familiar. "That is if I can even remember how to get home. You remember, don't you girl?" Buttercup barks and meanders over to a tree. Finally, we're in business! By the time I get home, Katniss is already in bed, sleeping happily. I take off my clothes, laying them neatly on the loveseat. There's a pair of flannel pajamas folded neatly on the dresser. I groan as I put on the pajamas, but I'm too tired to care about the fabric. I'm too exhausted to care about anything here. The only thing I care about is waking up in my real life.

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**Thanks for reading guys! Hope you liked the latest chapter! Did I throw anyone for a loop with Delly and Gale being married? How about Katniss being pregnant? Let me know what you think! I'm going to try to update on Sunday, have a great weekend!**


	8. Chapter 8

I slowly open my eyes as the morning light streams into the room. A slow smile crosses my lips as I reach across the bed and find it empty but still warm. I can't help but grin into the pillow until I realize that this isn't my room in my penthouse. I'm still stuck in crappy Panem. "Ugh," I groan into the pillow. Maybe if I close my eyes, I'll wake up in my real life. As soon as I close my eyes, I hear the sound of a baby crying, wailing actually. It's not stopping, the baby will not stop crying. I'm not sure where Katniss is but you would think she would be with her crying son. I crawl out of bed and head to the bathroom, might as well take care of my morning business. At least in the bathroom, I won't have to hear the baby cry. As I walk closer to the bathroom, I hear the shower running. No wonder, Katniss didn't get the baby, she's taking a shower.

"Katniss," I call out, the door's open but I just don't want to barge in on her. She doesn't answer. "Katniss!" I yell out louder, hoping she'll be able to hear me.

"Peeta? Come in, I can't hear you!"

I slowly walk into the bathroom and immediately I'm assaulted by a beautiful vision. Katniss. Katniss and her naked body are in the big open glass shower right in front of me. I feel like I shouldn't be looking at her, I'm not her real husband. But, I can't help but stare, I think my eyes are about to pop out of my head. Katniss is as gorgeous as ever, time has only been good to her. She's still thin but her hips are curvier than I remember and her legs go on forever. And her breasts, her breasts are the perfect size, they're also larger than I remember but oh so perfect. How has this woman given birth to two children? I didn't notice it right away but I can see a slight curve of her stomach, solidifying the fact that she is indeed pregnant.

"Peeta?" Katniss questions.

"Hey," I hope she didn't catch me ogling her perfect body.

"Hey," she mimics me before reaching for a bottle of shampoo.

"Uh…that baby's crying," I stumble, trying to look at her face and not her breasts.

"And?"

"He won't stop," I groan, I can still hear him and he's starting to give me a headache.

"Would you stop, Peeta! Today's your day and you know it. And try to get Oliver to pre-school on time, okay? He missed circle time last week."

"But I've…"

"Katniss cuts me off, "No buts, Peeta, I have to be in court today." And with that she starts shampooing her hair, completely ignoring me.

"Damnit," I mutter under my breath as I hurry out of the bathroom. I head to Oliver's room and thankfully his crying seems to have subsided. Maybe this won't be as bad as I thought. I can drop the little drool machine off and the little girl too and then spend the day, trying to figure out how to get back to my real life.

"He needs his diaper changed."

"Shit," I turned to Lily who was playing with Oliver through his crib bars. "You scared the crap out of me."

"Sorry," Lily mumbled as she walked to the rocker in the corner and plopped herself down in it.

"Daddy!" Oliver has reached his chubby little arms out towards me.

"Uh, hi Oliver," I nod my head towards him and carefully pick him up, my hands grabbing at his sides. I'm holding him like a football as I bring him to the changing table. "Ok, I can do this," I whisper quietly to myself so that Lily can't hear. I can see her out of the corner of my eye and she's watching me very carefully. There are new diapers hanging from the side of the changing table in a little blue cloth bag. I kind of remember changing my oldest nephew's diaper when I was a senior in college. Katniss and I babysit for my brother and his wife for a whole entire weekend. If I remember correctly, you pull back the little tape things on the diaper, which I do quite well, and "Holy mother of god!" How can a baby release something so big and so horrific smelling? "Oh god, I'm going to throw up. Ugh." I grab the offending diaper off of Oliver's butt because the smell is so awful; I have to get rid of it as fast as possible. "What…where?" I'm frantic, what the hell do I do with this thing. I'm tempted to just throw the damn thing out the window and be done with it.

"Over there!" Lily's squeezing her nose shut with one hand and pointing to some contraption on the other side of the changing table.

I press the little pedal on what appears to be a fancy white garbage can and suddenly the top opens and I throw the evil diaper in quickly and it seems to devour it within seconds. "Phew," I let out but I realize I still have a problem. The kid's butt still needs to be cleaned and pronto. "Um, is there a towel or?"

"Wipes," Lily points to a blue container of Pampers' baby wipes on the first shelf of the changing table.

"You must be kidding," I groan as I grab the container. I grab a handful of wipes and try to rid Oliver of his own mess. I throw those in the diaper garbage can thingy too. I repeat the process two more times until I'm satisfied with the results. "Not too bad, Peeta," I applaud myself after I've put the new diaper on the baby, that part was easy.

"It's backwards," Lily's staring at me, I don't know when she made her way from the rocking chair to standing right next to the changing table but somehow she did and she's staring right at me. I think this kid is really sneaky.

"Oh, well, it's ok," I stumble, because I'm not putting it on again. No way am I ever doing that again.

"You're not really our dad, are you?"

I stare at her and she's staring back with complete earnestness. I don't know how long we're looking at each other before I begin to speak. "No, I'm not." Lily looks somewhat shocked that she was right. "I work on Wall Street, you know with the big buildings?" No response from the kid so I keep going. "I live in a penthouse with a doorman, I can buy just about anything I want." Lily nods at me but still doesn't speak but she looks somewhat suspicious. "This isn't my real life. It's just a glimpse, or so I've been told."

"Where's my real dad?" She asks quietly, not once have her grey eyes veered off my face.

"I don't know." A concerned look appears on Lily's face and I'm petrified that she's about to cry. "But don't worry, he loves you and I'm sure he'll be back very soon," I say. "Very very soon," I repeat to myself because I know I want out of here and I'm sure he's missing his life too.

Lily tells me, "Bend down."

I comply although I don't know why I'm listening to a six year old, "Ok."

Lily firmly tugs on my blonde hair and pinches my cheeks, "They did a pretty good job."

"Who did?"

"The aliens…in the mother ship. You look just like our real dad."

"Uh, thanks…slightly better looking though, right?" I joke although I realize that Lily doesn't get it. "You're not going to start crying, are you? Because I'm not really sure I could deal with that right now."

Lily thinks about it for a moment before speaking, "Do you like kids?"

"On a case by case basis," I say, I might as well be honest with her.

"You know how to make chocolate milk?"

"I think I could figure it out."

"You promise not to kidnap me and my brother and implant stuff in our brains?"

"Sure."

Lily smiles, "Welcome to earth, new alien daddy!"

Lily's actually quite helpful this morning as Katniss had to leave before breakfast. Lily seems to be quite the household expert and helps me get Oliver dressed and breakfast on the table. She conned me into giving her some chocolate milk and fruity cereal that apparently Katniss doesn't let her eat often but what the hell, you're only young once. An hour later and we're dropping Oliver off at his pre-school, Lily even knows the way there too. I really think she's going to come in handy for however long I'm stuck here in this hell they call suburbia…which hopefully isn't very long.

"Oliver Mellark here," I hand off the baby to an older looking woman.

"Hi, Ollie," The woman grins as she takes him. "You're just in time for circle time."

"Uh great, do I get a receipt or something?" The woman stares at me like I'm crazy. "No, ok? Have a good day there, um buddy." I pat Oliver on his dark haired head before dashing back to the mini-man and a waiting Lily. "Ok, where to?"

"The YMCA, I have winter camp today."

"And that would be?"

Lily shrugs, "Not very far, I can tell you where to turn like I did before."

"Perfect," I say, pulling out of the parking spot. The Panem YMCA is only a few blocks away from Oliver's pre-school and I make it there in a few minutes.

"Ok, I have winter camp until four, then ballet until five thirty."

"Five thirty. Okay, I got it," I nod, making a mental note to myself to pick her up.

"Try not to be late because kids don't like to be the last one picked up."

"Got it. Good tip." I do have a vague recollection of being in t-ball and being the last one picked up because my mother had to pick up my older brothers from their activities first.

"Bye," Lily waves before hopping out of the mini-van.

"Hey! Lily! Wait!" I call out the window as she's already running to the front entrance. "Lily!"

"Yeah?"

"Um, where do I go now?" I suppose I have to go to work but I don't have a damn clue as to what it is that I do.

"Mellarks."

"Mellarks? Mellarks' Market and Bakery?" I question. "Why?"

"That's where you work."

My worst nightmare has just come true, "You mean I work at a grocery store?"

Lily shrugs, "Well you work at the bakery part," and with that she's back to running into the YMCA.

"That's what I do. I'm a damn baker. Oh god," The last thing I ever wanted to do was to work with my father. My oldest brother Patrick was the only one of us three boys who ever showed any interest in the family business. He went to community college for two years before starting work at Mellarks' Market and Bakery. Patrick got married right after that and moved down the street from my parents' house. Him and his wife Michelle went on to have the two most annoying children on the planet. I see them a few times a year at their house because there is no way that they are ever stepping foot in my Penthouse, not after the knife incident. Instead, I send checks on birthdays and holidays and that seems to appease the little devils. My middle brother Paul hightailed it out of Panem the day after he graduated from High School; he lives on the west coast and apparently has forgotten how to use the phone. The last time I talked to him was almost three years ago and he asked to borrow $100,000 to start a new business. I hadn't talked to Paul for almost five years before that so of course, I told him to piss off.

Much has changed about Panem, New Jersey but I still know the way to good old Mellarks' Market and Bakery. If I were blind, I would still be able to find my way. My brothers and I were forced to go there every day after school until we started playing sports and doing other activities. And in high school, we all worked there at one point or another, there was no escaping the family business. My parents wanted us to be a super close family, look how good that turned out. I'm absolutely shocked as I'm driving down Main Street when I see Mellarks'; it's twice the size of what it used to be. It looks like my parents finally bought out Lee's Dry Cleaners on the left side and Flora's Flowers on the right side. Never in a million years would I have imagined that business would be that good. Even in my real life, my parents are comfortable but not that comfortable. They're a town staple but not rolling in the big bucks. I'm even more shocked to see that on the left side of the red brick building is a separate sign for Mellarks' Bakery with a huge glass window and separate entrance. Wow, business is really booming.

It appears that the bakery section is closed so I walk in through the main entrance of the market. Looking around, I see that the store is teeming with activity, there appears to be a post-Christmas sale in progress.

"Peeta, my boy!" My father, Thomas approaches me, looking me up and down, "You are looking mighty worse for the wear. About your bad day yesterday, you know you can talk to me right?"

I nod, "Yes."

"Good," My father pats me on the back and grins. "Hey guess who I played Bridge with last week? I didn't get a chance to tell you before you bolted yesterday. Guess!"

"Um, no idea, Dad."

"Ok, ok, I'll tell ya. You would never guess right in a million years. One Claude Templesmith! That's Claude Templesmith, Buyer for WholeMart. Only the second largest company in New Jersey. I even let him win, which wasn't easy for me because the guy was horrible. Any who, he's looking for a new product supplier! I told him that we could start selling baked goods in WholeMarts all over the states. I know that would be a lot of extra work on your part but you could hire more help. We can handle that kind of volume, right son?"

"I'm going to have to get back to you on that, Dad," I reply because I have no idea if the bakery or market can do this.

"Alright, Peeta, think about it and get back to me. I've got to make a few calls in my office. Lunch?"

"Sure, dad." I watch him walk off and spot a young girl, must still be in high school, stocking fruitcakes in the Holiday clearance. She's wearing a red uniform and her nametag reads Faith Fox, which is kind of ironic because if you ask me, she slightly resembles a fox with her orange red hair, beady eyes and harsh features. I reach out and tap her on the shoulder.

"Oh hey, Mr. Mellark," She smiles bright at me.

"Uh hey, Faith. Do I have a private office somewhere in the building?"

"Uh, sure Mr. Mellark," she points nervously to the bakery which has a direct entrance from inside the market as well. "Right in back of the bakery there."

"Thank you." The kid probably thinks I'm nuts for not knowing where my own office is but I just really need some alone time right now. I walk through the big arch leading me into the quiet bakery. There are two huge display cases with lots of labels indicating a variety of different treats. In the huge glass window, there are tons of cakes too…from wedding to birthday to holidays. Behind the cash register are two doors. I peer through the door on the right and it leads to the kitchen where there are two employees busy working. The woman is kneading dough and the man is mixing some sort of batter. I quickly back away from the door, hoping that they don't see me. I head to the door on my left and Bingo! It's my office.

There's no state of the art treadmill here, no leather sofa or bar. It's small, cramped and cluttered; the walls are littered with recipes and pictures of cakes. I take a sad, long look around the office before making it to the small wooden desk at the far end of the room. I take a seat in the old leather chair and see pictures of Katniss, the kids and myself scattered on the desk. There's one of Katniss and I on the beach, me holding the reigns to Lily's pony, and Oliver smashing cake into my face on what appears to be his first birthday. All of the photos have on thing in common; I'm smiling in all of them. There's a desktop computer, a little pastry themed desk calendar and a small plastic figurine of a bowler holding a bowling ball, "Bowlers Do It In An Alley" is embossed on the ceramic base. I open the top drawer of the desk and find a checkbook, datebook, and lots of ink pens. I'm drawn back to the "Bowlers Do It In An Alley" figurine and I pick it up for closer inspection.

"Bowlers do it in an alley? Non-profit lawyers do it for free. What is with these people? Don't they realize this refers to sex?" I put the figurine back where I found it and decide to go through the drawers again. The second one contains a bunch a files but the third one hides a buried treasure, Glenfiddich. I lift it and find several paper cups behind the bottle. "At least you splurged on some decent scotch, Peeta." I pour myself a little and drink it down in one gulp. After crumpling up the cup, I throw it in the brown garbage can next to the desk. As much as I'd like too, I don't think I can get away with drinking a whole bottle of scotch at work.

Turning my head, I notice a small plaque on the wall. There's a picture of me in a suit and underneath it reads, "Peeta Mellark- E.F. Hutton #1 Junior Sales Associate, 2000." I raise a brow as I take it off the wall. "Number one, not bad. Wait, 2000…? I was in London in 2000." I'm staring at myself in the photo when I realize, "You never went to London, and you never got on that plane!" I don't have long to wallow in my thoughts because a strong looking African American man who seems slightly older than myself soon interrupts me.

"Hey Peeta."

"Um...hey," He unfortunately doesn't have a nametag and I have no idea who he is.

"I've already unlocked the front door and put out the open for business sign. So we should be booming soon. Mitchell and Octavia are already baking away in the kitchen." Well at least I have names for the two other employees but not the one speaking to me.

"Great," I force a smile; I have no desire whatsoever to do any work here.

"I'm heading to the register but is there anything else I can do for you, boss?"

"No, I'm good. I've just got um some work to do on the computer."

The man nods but doesn't move from his spot in the doorway, "Hey, what's that you're looking at?"

I look down at the plaque on the desk, "Did you know that I was the number one junior sales associate at E.F. Hutton in 2000? Did you know that?"

"No, I didn't…that's great," He smiles a genuine smile.

I nod in agreement, maybe someone actually gets that there's more to life than this shitty town. "That's the kind of thing you can really build on."

"Uh huh," The man nods somewhat nervously. I've lost him now; I knew it was too good to be true. He has no idea what I'm talking about. And why should he, he works at a bakery for christ-sake.

"Knock-knock," The older blonde woman, Octavia, who was in the kitchen, has now popped her head into my office. "Hey Peeta, good morning, I didn't see you come in. Sorry to interrupt but Thresh, there are a few customers in line already." She smiles and now I have a name to put with the face, Thresh.

"I'm on it," Thresh leaves my office quickly with Octavia hot on his heels. Hopefully they have everything under control because I have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing.

* * *

**I'm so sorry that this is so late but real life is kicking my butt. I hope you guys are still interested in reading this. I literally have a half a page left to write on my next chapter so I promise that there will be another update this week...if not, you have permission to send hate mail lol. As always, thank you guys so much for reading and please let me know what you guys think. I really value your reviews even if I don't always have the time to send a personal reply. Thanks, have a great week!**


	9. Chapter 9

"…_Advancers led decliners by a nine to four ratio and the closing tick was mildly bullish plus seventy six. Much of the market's action today was fueled by the latest round of merger mania to hit Wall Street…" _The Global Health Systems and MedTech logos appear on a graphic in the corner of the television screen that I'm watching_. "When Global Health Systems and MedTech Pharmaceutical announced their intentions to join forces in a massive one hundred and twenty two billion dollar stock swap deal. Though neither side expressed significant regulatory concerns at the announcement press conference, it is believed that both the FDA and the FTC will be closely scrutinizing the marriage, the largest ever in the health care industry. When asked about possible anti-competitive implications, Global Chairman Philip Heavensbee referred reporters to C.A. Snow and Associates President Seneca Crane, the original architect behind the deal,_" I'm staring in shock as the image changes to a super confident looking Seneca Crane shaking Philip Heavensbee's hand at the press conference. "_Ironically, Crane first met Heavensbee at a Lamaze class.._."

"A Lamaze class?" What the hell?

"_While coaching their pregnant wives, Crane and Heavensbee struck up a dialogue about the need for consolidation in the rapidly growing health care industry and two months later, the deal with MedTech was born_."

"What? That's my deal!" I'm furious, I worked my ass off on that deal whereas Seneca Crane just usually sits on his ass, the dumb louse that he is.

"Hey," Katniss is breathless as she scrambles into the room, wearing only a Columbia University sweatshirt. "I finally got Ollie back to sleep, I gave him a little Tylenol. I think he's coming down with something."

"Ok," I nod at her but go back to the TV; I need to hear every detail about this deal.

"Peeta. I said that Ollie's sleeping, we've got two sleeping kids!"

"Well that's just great, those little monkeys can be a real handful," I reply, I'm still watching TV hoping that CNBC will report more on the merger. Katniss grabs the remote off of the nightstand and turns the TV off. "Hey! I was watching that!"

"I thought we had a deal about you watching CNBC in bed."

"I'm working on a new deal now."

"Fine, but not tonight," Katniss grins as she climbs onto the bed, a seductive look on her face.

"Wait a second. You want me, don't you?" I realize I'm grinning too, I recognize that look on Katniss' face…she never could resist me.

"That is the general idea, yes." And before I know it, Katniss starts kissing me.

I'm a little uncomfortable with the sudden intimacy, I feel like I would be taking advantage of Katniss if I let this get too far. She may think I'm her real husband but I'm not. "Shouldn't we grab some dinner first? Maybe a bottle of wine?" I question with a hint of nervousness in my voice as I pull away from her.

"It's ten thirty, Peeta. By eleven you're going to be sprawled out on the bed snoring your head off. We don't have time for wining and dining…and hell, I can't even have wine for the next several months."

"Whatever you say, honey." Katniss laughs and starts kissing me again but this time I can't help but to go with it. It's been so long since I've tasted her soft and plump lips. She's running her hands through my blonde hair and nibbling softly on my bottom lip. This reminds me of our college days, how we would start studying and one of us would kiss the other and soon our books would be on the floor. I momentarily pull away and look at Katniss. "God…you're so beautiful." And she is, I mean really I haven't seen her in twelve years but she's more radiant than ever.

Katniss is blushing, "Thanks, Peeta."

"No, I'm serious. You're really stunning."  
"This is good stuff, Peeta, keep it coming. "

"I mean back when we were younger, you were a very pretty girl, there's no question about that. But this," I'm finding the words hard, I can't stop staring at her beautiful grey eyes, "you've really grown into a beautiful woman." Her beauty has me in a trance.

"How can you do that?" Katniss questions, staring at me.

"Do what?" I ask nervously.

"Look at me like you haven't seen me every day for the last twelve years." I don't know what to say, she's looking at me so lovingly but I know that it's not really meant for me. I'm not the real love of her life. "Don't move," Katniss gives me a quick kiss before she jumps off the bed and dashes into the bathroom.

I don't know what to do as I look around the room. I can hear her messing around in the bathroom; it doesn't look like she's coming out anytime soon. As much as I want her, I'm hit with the sudden realization that she's not mine…she's his, whoever he may be. I wouldn't want some other man having his way with my wife so I have to stop this before it even starts. I close my eyes, willing myself to sleep. I hear Katniss come back out a few minutes later but I force my eyes to stay shut, pretending to sleep. I can smell perfume, not too much or too little, just the perfect amount and she smells like fresh flowers on a sunny day. I'm almost tempted to open my eyes but I can't do this…not to her, not to me, or even to her real husband. Who would have thought I would do something good for a change? Katniss pulls the covers around me and turns off the lamp before crawling into bed next to me.

"Night, honey," She kisses my neck sweetly and wraps her arm across my chest, settling in for the night.

* * *

It's the middle of January now and I'm still stuck in this glimpse. Somehow, someway I've managed to survive and not seriously fuck anything up. Lily has been the biggest help; she's always there to help me fill in the blanks. Work hasn't been as difficult for me either, I'm a little rusty but I remembered all of our family recipes fairly quickly. I've given Thresh more responsibility so he does a lot more baking and decorating of the fancy cakes. I told him that he was such a great employee but really I promoted him just to take the pressure off of me.

It's a Saturday and we're in the very crowded mall, Bloomingdale's to be exact. I'm walking behind Katniss who is pushing Oliver in the stroller and holding Lily's hand as we pass through the men's department. I've already got a bevy of shopping bags and I want nothing more than to go home. I don't do suburban shopping malls; I imagine the experience can be compared to a long stay in the ninth circle of hell.

"We're almost done here," Katniss says, looking back to me as I lag behind.

"Mary Janes, Mom. You promised me," Lily tugs on Katniss' coat sleeve.

"That's right. Okay, let's make a quick stop at the kids' shoe department. Then, I need to pick up my watch from that battery place and run to the fabric store."

"Why don't we just go to all the stores!" I shout and receive a few evil stares from passing by mall patrons. "Every single store in this godforsaken shopping mall! We can go to them all!" I didn't mean to yell but this is one of the most frustrating days, ever.

"You know what, Peeta? I'll go with the kids. Why don't you just hang out here in the men's department, okay?"

I glance at the Men's Department and most of what I see is not up to my standards but I suppose it will have to do. I nod to Katniss whom I know is upset and embarrassed and I feel guilty for my little outburst. She takes off with the kids without so much as a nod to me. As soon as they leave, I'm instantly drawn to a neat row of beautiful suits. Like a moth to a flame, I'm pulled to them. I can tell the brand even before I make it to them. I'm what you might call a suit connoisseur or so I've been told. Now these beauties are by Zegna, which is a good brand, but I normally go for the higher end labels. But something about these suits has me intrigued so much so that I'm approaching a rack and gently pulling at a navy blue suit. The soft wool feels perfect on my fingertips, god, it's been too long since I've worn anything this nice.

"It's perfect for your frame." I'm somewhat startled to see a salesman standing right behind me. "Would you like to try it on?" Music to my ears!

"Yes I would," I grin.

It isn't long before I find myself standing in the full-length mirror just outside the men's dressing room. God, I look good. This navy blue wool suit is perfect for my frame, the salesman was definitely right. The color is absolutely spectacular and I must admit that Zegna has really outdone themselves with this new collection. This is definitely a higher quality than I've seen from them. When I go back to my old life, I might have to get a few of these. Hell, just looking at myself in the mirror I can see my old self, pieces of my real life. All I see is me and I don't have a care in the world.

"You look amazing in that suit." I snap out of my trance and turn around to see Lily playing with Oliver in the stroller and Katniss is standing behind me, smiling and looking impressed. "I mean wow! That is off the charts great, Peeta!" Katniss exclaims.

I can't wipe the smile off my face, especially because it seems like Katniss is checking me out. I very much recognize the look on her face, I've seen it many a time before. "It's an unbelievable thing! Wearing this suit actually makes me feel like a better person," I take one final look at myself and make a firm, solid decision. "I'm going to buy it!"

Katniss raises an eyebrow and then grabs my sleeve, checking for the price tag, "$2,800! Are you out of your mind?"

I point to the bag in Lily's hand, "She got those new shoes," I point out to Katniss so why shouldn't I get a new suit.

"Those shoes were only thirty two dollars. Come on, take it off. We'll go to the food court and get one of those funnel cakes you like."

"No," I look at her, wanting her to know that it's a moment of decision on my part.

Katniss looks back at me, surprised, "No?"

"Do you have any idea what my life is like?"

"Excuse me?"

"I wake up in the morning covered in dog saliva. I drop the kids off, spend eight hours baking at a market and bakery…at a damn bakery Katniss." Katniss just stands here, aghast but I'm really not paying her much mind. "I pick up the kids, walk the dog, which by the way, carries the added bonus of carting away her monstrous shit. I play with the kids, take out the garbage, get six hours of sleep if I'm lucky, and then it starts all over again. And why the hell is it that I always have to drive everyone everywhere? I spend practically my entire day in that slow as hell mini-van listening to Raffi CDs and trying to figure out how the cup holders work. I'm sick of it!"

"Really."

"What's in it for me? Where are my Mary Janes?" Seriously, if I'm going to be stuck here, why the hell shouldn't I have something nice to show for it? Why doesn't Katniss understand, that I wasn't born to be mediocre? Hell, neither was she…she should be doing way more than pro-bono law.

Katniss is staring, shaking her head, "It's sad to hear your life is such a disappointment to you, Peeta."

"I can't believe it's not a disappointment to you!" I'm letting it all out and I should because she needs to hear this. "Jesus, Katniss, I could have been a thousand times the man I became. How could you do this to me? How could you let me give up on my dreams like this?"

"Who are you?" Katniss asks in disbelief, I can see the tears welling up in her eyes.

Oh god, I have to avert my eyes. Asshole Peeta has struck again. "Look, I'm sorry," I say lowering my voice. "I'm sorry I was such a saint before and I'm such a prick now. Maybe I'm just not the same guy I was when we got married…"

"Maybe you're not. The Peeta Mellark I married wouldn't need a $2800 suit to make himself feel better about his life, but if that's what it's going to take, then buy it. Just buy the goddamn suit…we can take money out of the kids' college funds."

We stare at each other for a while, kind of in a stand off before I have the good sense to speak. "Forget it," I'm quickly taking off the jacket, it's not like I'll need it baking cakes. "We'll get a funnel cake. It'll be the highlight of my week."

"Yay, funnel cakes!" Lily exclaims as she comes closer, unaware of the tension between her mother and myself.

After funnel cakes in the food court, we head home not stopping at the fabric store or the battery place. Oliver and Lily are both sleeping in the back and there's an icy silence between Katniss and myself. I've got my eyes on the road as I maneuver the somewhat icy streets and Katniss continues to look out the window, anger on her face.

"Listen, I'm sorry about that back in the store. I really didn't want to fight with you," Which is true, Katniss doesn't deserve the way I treated her. It's not her fault that I'm experiencing this glimpse and her real husband is god knows where. "But you must sometimes wonder how we ended up here. I mean back in college, did you see us here?"

Katniss turns to me, "I'll give you this, life has thrown us a few surprises."

I nod, "It really has, hasn't it? So if you had to say…what would you say was the biggest surprise?"

Katniss glances at the sleeping children in the back before turning back to me, "Well, Lily for one."

"Surprise. We're pregnant," I laugh. "Yeah, that must have been…I mean that was very unexpected for us. But, what are you going to do about it, right?"

"I think it worked out okay, don't you?"

"Sure. I really like Lily."

"Good, Peeta. Maybe we'll keep her," Katniss rolls her eyes.

"No, I love Lily," Which I think is true; I've never met a better kid. "We had a lot of good times, didn't we?"

Katniss nods, "We were so young," she smiles nostalgically. "Remember that little place on Charles Street we used to go to?"

"Charles Street? In the Village? When we were living in Greenwich Village?" Katniss nods. "Great times. Why did we ever leave?"

"You can't really raise a kid in an apartment in the Village," I nod, trying to piece everything together. "Besides the trek out to the hospital every day didn't help either. You were so great. Surviving the heart attack was one thing but…"

I interrupt her, shocked, "You had a heart attack?"

Katniss laughs, "Peeta, stop that. I'm still mad at you, stop trying to get back in my good graces." She sighs before getting serious again. "Who knows what would have happened if you hadn't stepped in at your parents' market."

"That's why I work for my dad?" Katniss looks at me, a sad smile on her face, confirming my suspicions. "I mean...that's why I work for my dad." I feel a little sick now that I have most of the missing pieces of the puzzle…the biggest that my dad had a heart attack. My dad has to be one of the healthiest people on the planet, I can't imagine anything bad ever happening to him." So we had a baby, my dad had a heart attack, we bought that house, and I've been working for him ever since…Sayonara, Wall Street." Katniss is once again looking at me strangely. I guess I was really talking to myself. "Our life in a nutshell," I add, hoping that will make some sense.

"If you want to look at it that way."

"How would you look at it?"

Katniss grins and glances at the kids in the back seat before turning back to me, "A great success story."

* * *

**Sorry I'm late in updating but hey no one sent hate mail so you couldn't have been that mad lol. To make up for it, the next chapter is written and ready to be uploaded as soon as I get a decent amount of reviews, of course. Thanks for reading! **


	10. Chapter 10

Somehow, I've finally managed to get myself dragged to bowling league. I'd been avoiding going with many excuses for a while now. I'm stuck in a crowded suburban bowling alley at the end of the lanes with a group of rambunctious guys, most of whom I remember from the Hawthornes' Christmas party. To make matters worse, we all have matching orange bowling shirts. Mine also has the nickname "The Hammer" emblazoned over the front pocket. It's my turn to bowl and I've got a matching ugly orange ball with my name inscribed on it. I approach the line and throw the ball down the lane without success. Actually, it's pretty ugly, my ball caroms off the hardwood lane and into the gutter. This is why I was avoiding bowling night; I haven't bowled since I was in junior high. The Peeta here might be a league champion but me, I'm at the bottom of the barrel. I'm sure Lily is ten times the bowler I am and I bet even Ollie could at least knock down a pin or two.

"Damn," I mutter as all the guys stare at me, shocked that "The Hammer" is so off his game.

"Jesus, Peeta, this is a league match, for god's sake!" Finnick yells from behind me. I turn around and Finnick and the rest of the guys are looking incredibly pissed off. "Where's your follow through? Where's your stance?"

"I'm doing the best I can," I'm having a hard time not scowling. "I'd like to see you hit a squash ball after seventeen beers," I mutter under my breath, knowing that no one else can hear me.

"You're right. Why am I so competitive? Compensation, I guess. Look, just focus, Peeta. You can still pick up the spare," I guess this is what Finnick considers encouragement.

I nod before going to retrieve my ball. I grab it quickly and walk back up to the lane, ready for my second turn. "You are Peeta Mellark. You're better than this sport. You shot the rapids at Kena. You ran with the bulls at Pamplona. You jumped out of a plane over the Mojave Desert, for Christ's sake. You can do this," I say to myself quietly, genuinely concentrating at throwing this ball down. I put everything I have into this throw, heaving the orange ball down the lane with as much grace and power that I can muster. The ball whooshes down the lane, hitting the six pin and taking out five others around it. "Yeah!" I scream, excitedly, pumping my fist in the air. The guys could care less as I approach.

"Okay, Ian, you're up," Finnick states as a brown haired man stands up.

Somehow, our team still manages to come out on top for the night. A few of the guys are still bowling for fun but I've definitely had my fill of bowling to last a lifetime. After another thirty minute of bowling torture, I'm finally free. I head off to the lounge, now's as good a time as any for another drink. I'm not in a rush to head home so might as well have another crappy domestic beer. As I'm heading toward the lounge, I see a familiar face walking straight towards me.

"Hi Peeta," Delly smiles as she catches up to me, she's wearing a very tight, fitted pink bowling shirt with the top buttons missing.

"Delly, hi."

"I saw you out there. What do you have the flu or something?" She questions, so everyone knows that I suck at bowling.

"Something like that."

"Need a nurse?" Delly winks.

"You're a nurse?"

Delly giggles, "If that's what you want me to be, Peeta."

Delly brushes past me, continuing on to another lane. I watch her for a moment when an incredible thought pops into my head. "Wait a second!"

Delly turns around, still smiling. "Are we...?"

"Are we what, Peeta?"

I gulp, not thinking that real Peeta with his so called perfect life would cheat on his wife. "Is there something going on between us?"

Delly looks absolutely surprised at my directness. After a moment, she walks closer to me. "Are we finally being honest?"

"It would help me if we were."

"Okay, you're right, we've been dancing around this for years," Delly looks flushed and she briefly fans at her overly made up face. "God, my heart is racing. Here goes nothing…When I get dressed for a party and I know you're going to be there…well, lets just say I don't go strapless because my husband likes it." I'm definitely intrigued as she continues talking. "I go to the bakery every week and I don't even eat sugar anymore, I'm on a diet. And our girls just happen to be in the same ballet class every year? So, if you're asking me whether I'd like it to be more, the answer is yes. Abso-fucking-lutely yes Peeta."

"Delly," I say, completely shocked.

"And Katniss and Gale wouldn't ever have to know."

I can't believe that I'm about to do this but for some reason I am so intrigued not to mention the fact that I'm also horny as well. I feel guilty every time Katniss tries to kiss me, I can't sleep with her no matter how much I want too. I can't hurt her like that, I'm not her real husband and I feel as if I would be taking advantage of her. But Delly, I could care less about her marriage to Gale and as a man, I have needs. "Do I have your number?"

Delly grins wide, "Gale's taking the kids skiing in a few days so why don't you just stop by then," Delly turns to leave, leaving me standing alone, watching as she sashays back to her lane, clearly for my benefit. Thank god Gale is deep in conversation with the others on my league. He's always been kind of clueless so I doubt he would notice if his wife was flirting with me.

I finally walk into the lounge; I'm definitely a little dazed. I spot Finnick having a beer at the bar too and sit in an empty stool next to him.

"Hey Peeta, you're all flush. I guess that seventy-one took a lot outta you," Finnick says looking me over and making reference to my crappy bowling score.

"I just saw Delly Hawthorne."

"God, she is relentless."

"She wants to have an affair with me."

Finnick's eyes go wide, "She actually said that?"

I nod, trying to hide my grin. "Pretty much."

"Oh yeah," Finnick says shaking his head, "What is it about you?"

"Do you have her cell phone number or something? I don't think I should call the house and I can't exactly ask Katniss."

"Whoa, whoa! Wait a second, Peeta. You're not actually going to cheat on Katniss?"

"It wouldn't really be cheating," I'm not her real husband but of course Finnick looks doubtful and of course he would, no one but Lily knows that I'm not the real Peeta. "Look, it's complicated Finnick, you just wouldn't understand."

"Look, maybe I'm not as good a consigliere as you are but you have to trust me on this one. A little flirtation's harmless but you're playing with fire here. The Fidelity Bank and Trust is a tough creditor, Peeta. You make a deposit somewhere else, they close your account forever."

"I'm telling you, those rules don't apple to me here, Finnick."

Finnick chuckles "Screw the rules. I'm talking about the choice. Come on, Delly Hawthorne has no class. If she wasn't with Gale, she'd probably be living in a trailer or feeding a ninety year old man pills in his applesauce and waiting for him to croak."

"Hey, is that really necessary?" Delly and her family were my neighbors growing up and she was a decent friend growing up. She may be a little clueless and shallow but I wouldn't call her trash or a gold-digger.

"All I'm saying is there isn't a guy in New Jersey who wouldn't give his left nut to be married to Katniss Mellark. You've said it yourself buddy, Katniss is as close as to perfection as anyone could get," Finnick takes one last swig of his beer and gets up. "I'll see you later, Peeta."

I don't even bother ordering beer and head home too. Finnick has kind of ruined the night for me anyway. It isn't fair, I don't really belong here. Why am I still being punished? Finnick's right though, everyone was jealous of my relationship with Katniss during our high school and college years. We were the golden couple, men wanted her all the time but she never paid another guy even a glance the whole time we were together. And I only had eyes for her…shocking I know.

I make my way home in record time and walk into the quiet house carrying my bowling bag. I quickly drop the bag and my coat in the front closet and make my way to the kitchen. Katniss is sitting at the counter, poring over some legal documents.

"Hi," I acknowledge her on my way to the fridge.

"How was the game, honey?" Katniss asks, not even bothering to look up, eyes fixated on her work.

"Long, boring, and generally pretty sad. Finnick seemed to enjoy it," I open the fridge, I'm on a mission and I know exactly what I want. "Hey, where's that chocolate cake?"

"You mean this chocolate cake?" I don't know how I missed it when I first came in but sitting right next to her legal documents is a huge hunk of chocolate cake. Katniss is grinning and has a bite ready to go into her mouth.

"That's my piece. I was saving it because I got nauseated from that store bought chicken at dinner. "

Katniss takes the bite, a little piece of chocolate frosting sticks to the side of her mouth, "It's good."

"Of course it's good, I made it. Now give me that cake."

Katniss grins taking another a bite, "No way."

I grab for the plate but she holds it out away from me so I that I can't reach it, "Come on, Katniss I've had a bad night."

Katniss shakes her head, "Sorry, Peeta. It's too important to me."

"It's important to me too, Katniss," I try to swipe the plate but Katniss is too quick. She jumps out of her chair and runs out of the kitchen with the cake, giggling loudly. I can't help but laugh at her antics and you know what they say…if you can't beat them, join them. So, I take off after her, chasing her through the family room, dining room and then through the living room. She makes it as far as the stairs when I finally catch up to her. "I want that cake, Katniss Mellark!" I'm able to reach up and grab her shirt, effectively pulling her playfully down on me.

"You want the cake, Peeta?" Katniss laughs, out of breath.

"I want it," I let out, somewhat out of breath from chasing her and laughing.

She looks at me, then takes the whole piece in her hand and smashes it right in my mouth, "Here you go."

"Thank you," I manage to get out between laughing hysterically and not trying to choke on the massive piece of cake in my mouth and all over my face.

"It's good, right?"

I nod and take a clump from my chin and smear it on Katniss' face, "Absolutely delicious."

Katniss takes her small finger and dips it on the mess on her face before quickly putting in her mouth, "Even better the second time around."

"You're so cute," And she is, even covered in chocolate frosting. God, I haven't laughed like this is thirteen years.

"You're not so bad yourself," Katniss smiles.

"Are the kids asleep?" Something's come over me and I just have to this beautiful woman right in front of me. Screw the real Peeta, screw Delly. I just need Katniss and I need her now.

I see a sexy smile from Katniss right before she starts kissing me. It takes only seconds before it starts heating up. Her tongue is tangling with mine and my chocolate covered hands are already scurrying under her shirt.

"Say it, Peeta…" Katniss practically purrs.

"What?" I leave her lips for a moment

"Come on, you know what I like to hear."

"Yeah, baby, I know what you like to hear," I'm panting, so she likes dirty talk, I can get into that no problem.

"Then say it, just say it to me," Katniss continues kissing me.

"Oh yeah, you're a bad girl, baby. You make me so hot, I'm going to take you to that special place," I'm swept up in the moment and I'm hard as hell, it's been way too long.

Katniss pulls away, "What?"

I look at her and can practically see the passion drain from her face, "Not it?" I sigh…damn!

"Nice, Peeta. You're sweeping me off my feet."

"What? You make me hot…" And it's so true, I want Katniss so bad. I've never wanted anyone more than I want her.

Katniss doesn't say anything but instead promptly stands up and heads up the rest of the stairs, disappearing down the hall. I shake my head, frustrated. God, what does she want from me? How the hell am I supposed to know what she wants me to say? Do I need to recite a poem to get into her pants? Ugh, I lean back into the stairs when I feel something licking at my leg. Looking down, I see Buttercup at my feet, wagging her tail, looking up at me with that same dumb, 'I've got to go,' look on her face.

I sigh but force my way off the stairs, Buttercup is right at my feet. I make a quick detour to the downstairs bathroom and wipe off the remains of the chocolate cake. After I'm clean, I grab my coat and Buttercup's leash before opening the front door. "Come on Buttercup, maybe one of us can get a little relief tonight."

As usual Buttercup is the one leading me around the neighborhood. I don't understand why it takes her forever to do her business when she's in such a hurry to leave the house. We're a few blocks away when I see a familiar house. It's the Hawthornes house; I remember it well from the Christmas party even though it is now sans garish Christmas decorations. Upstairs, there is a light on and I see the faint outline of a woman reading by a window. Soon Buttercup is pulling at the leash, leading me away from the Hawthornes house. It's not like I could do anything with Delly anyway, both her and Gale's cars are in the driveway. And after my intimate moment with Katniss, I'm not sure I could betray her. I'm not her real husband but I still want her with every fiber in my being.

Buttercup finally does her business and we head on home. I didn't realize just how cold it was until I'm back in the front door, feeling the radiating heat. I quickly take off Buttercup's leash and she runs off somewhere in the house. I hang up my own coat before venturing into the very quiet house. I slowly make my way into the dining room and head straight to the small bar on the sideboard. There's a big bottle of scotch that has my name on it. I pour myself a big glass and take a long slow slip before walking into the family room. I don't think that I have it in me to face Katniss right now and see the disappointment written all over her face. I think there's a basketball game on and that's as good an excuse as any to stay down here. Glancing around the room, I realize that I've never really noticed all of the many family photographs that grace the mint colored walls. Everyone's expressions are always so happy, like they don't have a care in the world. It must be nice to always be that happy. With another sip of my scotch, I grab the television remote off of the entertainment center. Right next to the remote is a pile of DVDs with titles like "Trip to Yosemite, 2009," and "Oliver's 1st Birthday." I run my fingers along the cases and stop at one marked, "Peeta Singing." I'm definitely intrigued by this one because I definitely do not sing. I have to watch this! I put my drink down and pop the disc into the DVD player. I grab my drink and settle into the comfy couch as a party quickly appears on the big flat screen TV.

It's a party for Katniss' birthday; there are cheesy "Happy Birthday Katniss" decorations along all the walls. I'm not sure whose house we're at but I see a lot of the same crowd from the Hawthornes' Christmas party. The image jerks up and down; surveying the crowd…whoever shot this home video needs a lesson in cinematography. Finally I see Jackson, the obese man from the Christmas party, playing some light cocktail music on the piano. Katniss comes into view too, smiling bright with a group of friends.

"Jesus, Jackson, this thing is an antique. Don't you even have image stabilization?" Finnick questions.

Jackson stops his playing and looks up at Finnick, "Five hundred bucks at Best Buy, Finnick."

Then I come into the frame, a confident smile on my face…Well, other real Peeta I guess, "And everyone knows image stabilization is for the weak." He smiles as Katniss walks into the frame again, easily putting an arm around him.

"So Peeta, it's your wife's birthday, got anything to say to her?" Finnick jokes.

Real Peeta turns to Katniss, "It's your birthday? Today? What's your name? Where were you born?"

"Peeta," Katniss rolls her eyes.

"Wait a minute. You're my wife?" Real Peeta looks shocked but it's clear that he's joking. Katniss slaps him playfully on the arm. "I do have one thing I want to say." Katniss looks at him expectantly and then it happens, Real Peeta starts singing to her, "Oh those fingers in my hair, that sly come hither stare, strips my conscience bare, it's witchcraft…" Just like me, Real Peeta doesn't have the greatest voice in the world but he's not the least bit self-conscious and Katniss seems to like it. There's a twinkle in her grey eyes and more and more of the guests are starting to focus their attention on Peeta and Katniss. I'm slightly embarrassed for the guy but he keeps singing,

"And I've got no defense for it, that heat is too intense for it, what good would common sense for it do." Suddenly Jackson, who is still at the piano, chimes in with the basic chords for "Witchcraft," sounding it out as he goes along.

"…Cause it's witchcraft, wicked witchcraft…and although I know it's strictly taboo…when you rouse the need in me, my heart says yes indeed in me, proceed with what you're leadin' me too." The camera catches the reactions of guests in the crowd; the women are all smiling, wrapped up into the romance of the moment and there's envy on the men's faces as they watch Peeta serenade his wife. Suddenly Peeta throws off his jacket and there are some hoots and hollers from the crowd. Finnick and Johanna whistle as Peeta strolls in front of the gathered guests.

"It's such an ancient pitch, but one that I'd never switch, there aint no nicer with than you," Real Peeta is starting to move gracefully and I'm watching him with a bizarre fascination. Back on the screen, the camera catches Delly Hawthorne watching lovingly as Peeta moves back toward Katniss. Apparently Delly can't take it anymore because she abruptly turns and walks toward the kitchen. I can't believe that she's been wanting me or real Peeta for so long and that's she's so blatant about it. Real Peeta approaches Katniss and she couldn't have a more delighted look on her face.

"Cause it's witchcraft, that koo koo witchcraft…and although I know it's strictly taboo…" The camera pans across the crowd again, even the men are getting into it, focused on Peeta as he sings lovingly, unashamed, to his wife. One of the guys from the bowling league, Ian, I think his name is, mouths the words along with Peeta, almost as if he's studying him, revering him. Maybe I underestimated my alter ego; the real Peeta is almost as charming as me.

"When you rouse the need in me, my heart says yes indeed to me, proceed with what you're leadin' me too," Peeta and Katniss exchange a sexy smile. "It's such an ancient pitch, but one that I'd never switch..." Peeta kisses Katniss on the lips and there is a chorus of hoots and hollers from the crowd.

"Cause there's no nicer witch than you." Katniss brushes a hand across Peeta's face and the crowd is completely in the palm of Peeta's hand, "than you…" There's a little musical flourish from Jackson as the crowd breaks out into huge cheers and applause once again.

"Happy Birthday sweetheart. I love you," Peeta says quietly to Katniss. In turn she leans over, giving him a deep kiss. Ooohs and Ahhhs from the crowd but Peeta and Katniss are in their own little world.

I release a breath that I didn't even know I had been holding in. And a teardrop rolls down my cheek, I can't remember the last time I cried. After watching this, I feel like I've lost something that I didn't even know that I was missing. Even bigger is the realization that I've been so utterly alone in my life until now.

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**Look I kept my promise, another chapter in less than 24 hours, woo woo! Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter, I'd love to have just as many on this one. I hope that you were able to follow along with Peeta watching the dvd and real Peeta singing. It was a little hard to right but I wanted to get Peeta's thoughts in there too. I'm sure you were mad at Peeta (and me) this chapter but don't worry, he's about to become less of a douchebag in the next chapter so please stay with me**. **Thanks for reading and let me know what you think. **


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